Brussels, 16/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - European and Vietnamese negotiators will meet again, in Brussels, on 23 January for the tenth round of EU-Vietnam free trade talks.
The last round of “intersession” consultations, on 24-28 November, covered a wide range of issues on the negotiating table - including services, public procurement, aspects connected to competition and intellectual property rights. This round resulted in an optimistic report from the European Commission, with the two parties believing that the consultations had been fruitful, and confident that a free trade agreement could be concluded at the start of 2015. Following the ninth round of negotiations (22-26 September 2014), former Commission president José Manuel Barroso and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung confirmed in Brussels on 13 October that they wanted conclusion of the free trade agreement in early 2015.
European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström told the European Parliament on 3 December that they wanted to finish the talks at the start of 2015 - provided that “Vietnam is ready to put more on the negotiating table” as regards services and investment, public procurement, intellectual property rights and geographical indications, competition rules and customs duties. (EH)