On Tuesday 2 February 2016, the informal Trade meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union was held in Amsterdam, providing the opportunity for an exchange of views on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US.
The talks took place in the presence of the European Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström and enabled an update on the status of negotiations with the US partner, confirming the will to reach an ambitious and balanced agreement. However, details and measures for promised improvements in the transparency of the negotiations have not been released.
The ministers then discussed the work of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), particularly with reference to priorities for post-Nairobi negotiations. Minister Asselborn emphasised that "We as Europeans have a responsibility to do everything we can to better integrate developing countries into international trade".
The Ministrs examined the agreement on environmental goods and the TiSA agreement on services before reviewing other current subjects in trade policy, including the status of China's market economy.
Photo by Dutch Government/Valerie Kuypers (L-R: L-R: Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg; Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation; Pieter De Crem, Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade)
