European Commission proposes TTIP oversight mechanism

The chief negotiators from the EU and the US have concluded the eighth round of negotiations on the free-trade agreement.

Click Here: nrl shops

The European Commission published on Tuesday (10 February) the legal texts of a proposal to set up a regulatory co-operation body to monitor the implementation of deals made as part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The announcement was made following the conclusion of the eighth round of negotiations last Friday (6 February).

Ignacio Garcia Bercero, chief negotiator for the European Union, said that the regulatory body – which will be known as the intergovernmental oversight mechanism – should not delay the negotiation process and that its role was not to take decisions on trade agreements. Its sole function would be to ensure that the terms agreed are actually implemented.

Dan Mullaney, who leads the negotiations for the United States, said that the US will look at the EU proposal “to fully understand what it is about”. Mullaney stressed that the US also thinks that there needs to be a mechanism in place to address any future issues and that developments should be reviewed as the partnership takes shape.

The negotiators said that the talks, which are supposed to be concluded by the end of this year, will intensify over the coming months. The next two rounds, in April and July, will mainly focus on regulatory co-operation.

Mullaney said that it was important “not to measure the progress being made by the number of rounds of talks”, because much is being done at other levels and in other fora, such as during G20 meetings. On financial services for example, talks between the US and the EU are ongoing.

Garcia Bercero said progress on market access, regulatory issues and goods had been made, though the talks were mainly about getting “a better understanding” of the points of view. In the regulatory field, he stressed that “proposals on technical areas make sure that work on consolidated texts can now start”.

The EU is pushing for a chapter on sustainable development, which affects workers’ rights and environment. It is also yet to be decided whether there will be a separate chapter on energy, or whether energy-related issues can be sufficiently dealt with in other chapters.