Brussels, 20/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting on the sidelines of the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday 18 January, the members of its international trade committee underlined that they want to be closely involved in the issue of the EU granting China market status. A decision must be taken on granting this status by the end of 2016.
On Monday, the international trade committee adopted an oral question to be addressed to the European Commission at the Parliament's plenary session in February. The MEPs want to know how the Commission intends to address this issue of granting China market economy status, and what options are under consideration. The MEPs also ask whether the Commission will be able to provide an in-depth impact assessment of the effects of the different options on European industry, jobs, investment and EU competitiveness.
After an initial policy debate on 13 January, the Commission decided to return to this issue in the second half of 2016 - which will leave time for this extremely sensitive issue to be examined from all angles with all stakeholders (see EUROPE 11467). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)