Brussels, 21/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has this week started preparing its new recommendations to the European Commission as part of the free trade talks between the EU and the US (TTIP). The TTIP negotiations were launched in June 2013 and launched again at the end of 2014 -after several months of stagnation due to the leaders of the EU institutions being replaced and the US mid-term elections.
At the time of EUROPE going to press on Wednesday 21 January, the Parliament's international trade committee was continuing its debate on the proposal for recommendations that was drawn up by the committee's chairperson, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany). The Parliament's new recommendations will be based on an assessment of the main results of the negotiations thus far, and will propose adjustments in view of the new political actors and the fears raised by civil society. Ten other committees will give their opinions on the TTIP negotiations and will contribute to Lange's document ahead of it being adopted by the Parliament next May.
Cecilia Malmström defends TTIP in Austria. Visiting Vienna on 20 January, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström argued in favour of the future transatlantic trade agreement before the Austrian government and representatives from the country's civil society and stakeholders. In an interview by radio station Oe1, Malmström said she believed a failure of the negotiations would be “a shame”. “In the next 20 to 30 years, growth will most likely come from outside the EU”, Malmström said, giving assurances that she had come to Austria - where there are strongly held doubts about TTIP - in order to listen to the concerns and criticism, and to help clear up the misunderstandings.
Barack Obama calls for fast track. In his state of the union speech on 20 January, US President Barack Obama called on Congress to grant him increased powers to be able to accelerate the talks for the free trade agreements with the EU (TTIP), and with the Asia-Pacific region (TPP). These “free” and “fair” agreements would enable US workers to be protected, Obama stated, and he called on the elected representatives to adopt the so-called fast track procedure that would allow his administration to negotiate the trade agreements in detail before asking Congress to endorse them en masse without discussing their content. (EH)