On Tuesday 19 September, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) voted unanimously to extend the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), due to expire at the end of 2023, for a further 4 years. As the Council of the EU had done previously (see EUROPE 13244/28), MEPs did not propose any changes to the extension text in order to allow its rapid entry into force. Without this GSP extension, 65 countries would see their tariff preferences for exports to the EU abolished.
MEPs did not fail to raise the subject during the following debate with Héctor Gómez Hernández, the Spanish Minister for Industry and Trade, who had come to present the priorities of the Council Presidency. Negotiations on amending the GSP have been at a standstill since the end of June, following persistent disagreements between the European Parliament and the Council (see EUROPE 13172/25). “Given the difficulties encountered, we voted unanimously for the extension, but the EU needs to send a definitive response; we need to reach an agreement”, insisted Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D, Spanish).
“The Presidency is open to relaunching negotiations with Parliament”, declared Héctor Gómez Hernández. “We could launch technical debates to try to bridge the existing gaps, and we will keep in constant contact with the European Parliament”, he concluded. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)