The European Parliament wants to enact legislation on the screening of foreign takeovers swiftly, before EU institutions shut down in the early months of next year ahead of European elections. This is why the committee on international trade voted for anticipated inter-institutional – or ‘trilogue’ – negotiations with the Council …
Energy & Environment
Week in Brussels: Trump, Paris agreement, China
It hasn’t been an easy week for the EU. Just as member state leaders felt they might be nearing a deal with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross that could spare the EU tariffs on steel and aluminium before a temporary exemption expires next week, the Trump administration initiated an …
EU-US steel: US ready to talk about talks, but still wants small quota
A ‘deal’ could be materialising between the Washington and Brussels ahead of the 1 June deadline for US tariffs on steel and aluminium to kick in. It is not yet clear whether all EU member states would approve the arrangements, or if it would hold within the US administration. …
EU trashes Chinese standards on foreign waste
China must give exporters more time to adjust to 11 new environmental protection control standards for imported solid waste as raw materials, the EU says. Governments got just 30 days to comment on the proposed changes, which were to enter into force on 1 March, and exporters had only 14 …
Mercosur in German NGO limelight
The EU is in the final stages of free trade negotiations with the South American bloc Mercosur. It is readying for the adoption of a new trade agreement with Japan and Vietnam. Anti trade agreement campaign groups have recently stepped up their activities to fight these agreements. A joint …
WTO: EU wants US to explain ‘safeguard’ on solar imports
The US must explain its decision to slap steep ‘safeguard’ tariffs on foreign solar cells and panels, says the EU, noting that Germany is a major exporter of the goods. In a communication to the World Trade Organization dated yesterday, the EU said that, “having a substantial interest as …
Insight: EU ramps up sustainable development in post-CETA trade agreements
Draft trade agreements currently under negotiation show the EU is ramping up its chapters on trade and sustainable development. One remaining open question is if these chapters will lead to a dispute settlement process that could lead to suspension of commercial preferences. The EU released the latest draft chapters …
TACD says yes to regulatory cooperation – but not in TTIP
With noises in the background indicating that Washington and Brussels are hoping to revive the currently halted TTIP negotiations, a fresh position paper released by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, a network of over 75 US and EU consumer organisations, has chipped into the process, arguing that in light of “vanishing citizens’ trust in trade …
TTIP and energy security: do Europeans actually want US LNG?
When TTIP talks were launched in 2013, Europeans were keen to tap into the United States oil and gas bonanza resulting from the country’s shale revolution to help reduce prices and shake off the continent’s too-heavy reliance on Russian hydrocarbons. But now US shale gas is arrriving in Europe, regardless of …
COMMENT: Towards a coherent system of global energy trade and investment rules
It is time to reassess the relationship between the WTO and Energy Charter Treaty, writes Anna Marhold.