Brussels, 06/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - With the Juncker Commission taking office on 1 November and victory for the Republicans in the US mid-term elections on Tuesday 4 November, a new page has doubtless been turned in the negotiations, opened in June 2013, on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and the US.
“I don't think that this will have repercussions for the upcoming TTIP talks. Negotiations continue independently of the party that wins the mid-term elections”, said new Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in response to a call, on Wednesday 5 November, from the European media for his views on the impact on the TTIP talks of the Republican victory in the Congress. “What's important is that we focus on growth” (our translations), he stated.
The Republican victory in Congress could, however, provide fresh impetus for the TTIP talks, since that party is traditionally more in favour of trade liberalisation and trade agreements than the Democrats of Barack Obama.
In the meantime, new Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has spoken on the telephone from as early as 3 November to US Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman. Both agreed on the “strategic and economic importance” of the TTIP and shared a commitment to “working on a fresh start for the talks”, according to the USTR website on Monday. Malmström and Froman plan to meet “in person in the near future”, perhaps even as early as next month, to take stock at political level.
At the technical level, negotiations remain on track following the seventh round, at the start of October. “Negotiations are now moving smoothly into the textual phase”, according to chief EU negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero. The dates of the eighth round of talks, to be held in Brussels, have still to be decided but meetings are likely to be held at the very start of next year.
This timescale would give the Commission's DG Trade time to complete its analysis of the 150,000 submissions received in the public consultation on the controversial chapter on protection of investments in the TTIP and the arbitration mechanism for investor-state disputes (ISDS). This latter issue will be at the heart of discussions in Berlin on 10 November when Commissioner Malmström is due to meet German Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who has many times expressed his opposition to inclusion of the ISDS in the TTIP.
Prior to leaving the Commission on 31 October, Malmström's predecessor, Karel De Gucht, called on the Court of Justice of the EU to provide a definitive ruling on the status of free-trade agreements between the EU and third countries and on responsibilities for ratification, in light of the agreement concluded in mid-October with Singapore (See EUROPE 11188). He was seeking to have clarified whether this was a power exclusive to the Commission or whether it was shared with the member states (“mixed agreement”), in which case approval by the national parliaments would be required in addition to that of the European Parliament. The opinion of the Court will relate to all future agreements negotiated but, in the case of the TTIP, it is very likely that this will be seen as a mixed agreement which will have to be ratified by all 28 member states. (EH)