15/07/24 (Agence Europe) – In a joint statement published on Monday 15 July, 31 associations representing various sectors (including Spirits Europe, BusinessEurope and Acea) call for openness and commercial diplomacy. They believe that the EU should conclude more free trade agreements (FTAs) during this mandate than during the previous one. Furthermore, at a time when the Commission has opened the debate on economic security, the 31 associations are calling for “a greater balance between strategic autonomy, which has taken precedence in the last EU term, and openness”. Finally, the Commission should focus its work on access to third country markets, according to the authors of the text, who nevertheless call for commercial diplomacy “to prevent and resolve misunderstandings and tensions as well as market access barriers”. A European Commissioner dedicated solely to Trade would also be welcome, according to the signatories. See the declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/d1g (LM)