News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Germany is the first among the ‘big’ EU member states to be on track to ratify the trade agreement with Canada commonly known as CETA. The country’s parliament’s ratification approval today comes after years of domestic debate and many misgivings in Germany about the trade agreement – in particular its …
The Supreme Court of Ireland today ruled that the EU’s trade agreement with Canada cannot be ratified without a referendum. But it also said that a referendum could be avoided if the Irish parliament agrees to make certain amendments to the Irish 2010 arbitration act.
The centre-left Socialists and Democrats group want the European Parliament to be involved in scrutinising the additional instrument on sustainability which will be attached to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. Speaking in a meeting of the parliament’s delegation to Brazil on Thursday (10 November), Kathleen Van Brempt, who also sits on …
We are entering the thick of the autumn and trade policy activity is at its highest for many months in Brussels.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pledged to put forward for ratification the EU’s trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, and New Zealand. During her annual state of the union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, the head of the EU executive also said that current trade negotiations …
Governments are facing tough decisions as rising energy prices threaten household and business budgets alike. This is a crisis of modern trade requiring serious consideration of what EU economic security means, and how trade policy should be adjusted accordingly.
Tuesday’s vote in the Netherlands to ratify CETA, the trade agreement with Canada which is provisionally in force since 2017, is a clear sign that the EU’s FTA agenda is now back in full swing. But the old-fashioned geo-strategic EU-US agenda remains firmly on the agenda – as DG for …
Today, the Dutch Senate approved a law allowing The Netherlands to sign and ratify the whole EU-Canada trade agreement CETA – including its investment protection part – after years of fierce national debate on its merits.
The Czech permanent representative to the European Union today confirmed that her country’s trade priorities during its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU will include finalising trade agreements which are currently ongoing as well as launching new ones with other countries and “partners”.
It’s been another big week in EU trade. The European Parliament has now a position on carbon border adjustment, and climate and labour conditionality in free trade agreements is about to get much much tougher. But there are even more big news – as seen below. By Rob Francis and …
