Commissioner Karel De Gucht welcomes Member States’ green light to start TTIP negotiations

United States EU-US negotiations

At the press conference after today’s Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht stated:

I am delighted that the Council has today decided to give the European Commission 'the green light' to start trade and investment negotiations with the United States. There was a broad consensus among the ministers on 98% of the mandate. What we discussed today, were audiovisual services.

What is really at stake in this sector is the digital revolution of the media environment. But there is currently no EU legislation on digital media. The European Commission has recently invited all interested parties to comment on a Green Paper on this issue. Hence, we do not want to treat it now, but come back to the matter at a later stage.

Let me be clear: this is not a carve-out. Audiovisual services are presently not in the mandate, but the mandate clearly indicates that the Commission has the possibility to come back to the Council with additional negotiating directives after on the basis of a discussion with our US counterparts.

We are ready to discuss it with our American counterparts and to listen to their views on this issue. That’s when we’ll come to a conclusion on if we will ask for additional negotiating directives.

The mandate includes the following Article:

“The Commission will, in a spirit of transparency, regularly report to the Trade Policy Committee on the course of negotiations. The Commission, according to the Treaties, may make recommendations to the Council on possible additional negotiating directives on any issue, with the same procedures for adoption, including voting rules, as for this mandate”.

On the EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is expected to create jobs and growth by delivering better access to the US market, achieving greater regulatory compatibility between the EU and the US, and paving the way for setting global standards. If such an ambitious agreement were achieved, it is expected that every year an average European household would gain an extra €545 and our economy would be boosted by 0.5% to up to 1% of GDP, or €119 billion annually.

For further information

Commissioner De Gucht’s press conference on the TTIP mandate: video and text MEMO on the negotiating mandate TTIP negotiations website Frequently Asked Questions about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Agreement The EU-US trade relationship