Brussels, 07/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - Over the course of the first six months of this year, when the Netherlands will be at the helm of the Council of the EU, the European trade agenda will be dominated by the bilateral free-trade negotiations taking place, including with the United States (TTIP).
On the multilateral level, the Dutch Presidency will follow up on the 10th WTO ministerial conference, held in Nairobi in December 2015, where the 162 member countries reached a partial agreement on the agricultural strand of the Doha Round (on the chapter relating to export competition, including the elimination of export subsidies and disciplines for equivalent measures) though failing to agree on the future of the Round (see EUROPE 11458). “The EU will start translating the agreements made (in Nairobi) into specific measures during the Netherlands Presidency. What is more, the Netherlands wants to be a galvanising force in the post-Nairobi debate on the future and role of the WTO in the multilateral trade system”, the Presidency states in its work programme published on Wednesday 6 January.
On the bilateral level, the Dutch Presidency will, “while paying due regard to the public debate surrounding the agreement”, strive for progress in the TTIP negotiations, which entered a more political phase in the 11th round of talks in October 2015 (see EUROPE 11417). It will also seek to conclude free-trade talks with Japan, which have so far seen 14 rounds of talks (see EUROPE 11443), to ensure that a mandate is granted to the Commission to modernise the existing free-trade agreement with Mexico and to make a start on the launch of negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. The Netherlands also wants to facilitate discussions around a Commission proposal to give China market economy status, subject possibly to certain conditions.
On the legislative level, the Dutch Presidency will work for a Council position on the European Commission proposal for a regulation aimed at promoting lawful, responsible trade in minerals from conflict and high-risk areas (see EUROPE 11032 and 11318). It will also endeavour to complete the trialogue discussions with the European Parliament and the Commission on amending the regulation seeking to control the trade in goods that could be used for the purposes of torture and execution (see EUROPE 11420).
A formal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in the trade ministers' format is planned for 13 May in Brussels. At this meeting, the Presidency hopes political agreements will be reached on the anti-torture and the conflict minerals regulations. It hopes, too, for a decision on signing the free-trade agreement with Canada (CETA), which is undergoing the legal tidying-up process.
An informal EU trade ministers' meeting is scheduled for 2 February in Amsterdam, alongside a development ministers' meeting. The agenda for this meeting has yet to be decided. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)