The Heads of State or Government will return to the subject of EU trade policy at their dinner in Brussels as part of the European Council on 21 and 22 October. According to Charles Michel’s invitation letter, the aim is to see “how trade can be used to pursue the EU’s global objectives”. This follows the discussion EU leaders had in Brdo pri Kranju in early October on the same issue (see EUROPE 12806/3).
At this stage, the draft European Council conclusions baldly state that “the European Council held a strategic discussion on EU trade policy”.
The issue of trade is indeed dividing Member States, according to two European sources. At a Trade Council meeting on 20 May 2021, the Ministers did not agree on the text of the conclusions on the trade policy review (see EUROPE 12723/7).
“We have ambitions, but we also have great difficulties in implementing them”, said a European diplomat on Wednesday 20 October. Member States are still divided between those who want to promote the opening up of the European economy and those who want to get tough on unfair competition from third countries, such as China.
The discussion is necessary, “we need to rethink a number of aspects of trade policy”, said a second EU diplomat.
In addition, EU leaders want to look at the procedures and transparency of the free trade agreements that the EU concludes with its partners. It will not be a question of going back on a particular agreement or agreements, according to a third source, but of “seeing what is making negotiations and ratification difficult”.
Some Member States already believe that this item on the summit agenda will be overshadowed by other issues on Thursday.
See the draft conclusions: https://bit.ly/3B0jJVD (Original version in French by Léa Marchal with the editorial staff)