In her draft report on the European regulation for the application and enforcement of international trade rules, MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew Europe, France) lays the groundwork for a more comprehensive and ambitious debate on the direction of European trade policy. This is what emerged from an interview with EUROPE on Tuesday 19 May.
The blocking of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism has forced the Union to embark on a revision of its trade enforcement regulation (see EUROPE 12464/2, 12387/23).
Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, who drafted the European Parliament's report on the European Commission's proposal, was alarmed that “the European Union is really no longer in a position to defend its interests” in the framework of its trade agreements. She intends to use this opportunity to rebalance the arsenal of deterrent instruments in EU trade policy, in line with its main trading partners.
Services and intellectual property
In her amendments, the French MEP proposes to include the services and intellectual property sectors, which are absent from the Commission’s proposal.
Ms Vedrenne called on the Commission to set aside its reluctance: “every time, the argument used is that it can be more complicated to imagine measures”. But the growing share of these areas in the global economy does not allow them to be ignored, she says. She added that it is “a question of credibility and dissuasive effect for the European Union”, but also “of coherence with the legislative framework and world trade”.
In 2014, when the first draft of the legislation was discussed, the Parliament had already supported the adding of services. Ms Vedrenne therefore hopes that a majority of political groups in the Parliament will support this proposal.
Generating a debate
The MEP also proposes to flank the regulation with interim measures to strengthen the EU's ability to react to any unilateral and illegal measures taken against it.
Ms Vedrenne knows that she is opening up a wider debate here, aimed at giving the EU additional trade tools to give its trade defence more teeth. “This would strengthen the deterrent nature of the settlement”, she adds, while reiterating her support for an open, rules-based multilateral regime.
Believing that her role as a MEP calls for her to “go further” in her proposals, Ms Vedrenne intends to set out the elements for “a debate of substance, a political debate”. “The EU must change its trade policy”, she warned, recalling the difficulties encountered by the latest trade agreements, propelled by CETA, in the French National Assembly.
“Phil Hogan's (Trade Commissioner) argument is no longer sufficient. The Commission needs to be aware that we need to change things on our bilateral agreements”, echoing the “new challenges” that the Union wishes to take up, she added.
The report will be presented to the Parliamentary committee at the end of May. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)