Brussels, 15/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 October, outgoing European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht and Carlo Calenda, Italy's deputy trade minister, both called for the EU and US to seize their opportunity in 2015 to conclude the free trade negotiations launched in June 2013. Neither of the partners will face any electoral deadline in 2015.
“We cannot negotiate at this intensity for five years [Ed: as was the case with Canada]. I think we should try to take advantage of next year. Technically this is possible… Then it depends on the political will and that's very difficult to predict”, said De Gucht, as quoted by Reuters, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of European trade ministers in Rome. There is a window of opportunity between 2015, after the US mid-term elections, and early 2016, before the US presidential campaign, said Calenda.
By contrast, opinions differ between the Commission and Italian Presidency on the opportunity to envisage a partial agreement in order to unblock the discussions that are currently stumbling on very technical issues. “We should try to reach an overall agreement. But if we don't reach this by mid-2015, then a plan B will be needed”, Calenda stated in early October. De Gucht, who is due to leave his post on 1 November, has already said that he is not convinced by the gradual approach, believing that this is about an “overall step”. The US side is also in favour of the option for an overall agreement.
On Thursday, US Trade Representative Mike Froman and the European trade ministers reviewed the TTIP negotiations thus far - which are still on track on the technical level despite a political process that is going more slowly for the moment. The seventh round of negotiations at the start of October did not enable a breakthrough - but the discussions entered their textual phase (see EUROPE 11171). (EH)