On February 24th 2016, AREPO participated in the Stakeholder Presentation Event organised by the European Commission on the occasion of the 12th round of talks, held in Brussels on 22-26 February. In the morning session, several stakeholders presented their position regarding TTIP negotiation while in the afternoon the Chief Negotiators briefed the participants on the state of the art of negotiations.
EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, stated that this round of negotiations will mark a more intensive phase of the talks. Both sides are committed to enter endgame negotiations by the end of the summer and finish talks during the last year of the Obama administration. Three rounds of negotiation will take place before the summer: in February (the current round), April and July.
Furthermore, negotiators are rejecting the concept of a “TTIP light” and affirmed that there are aiming for the TTIP to be a comprehensive and ambitious agreement.
Before approaching endgame talks, negotiating parties need to agree on a consolidated text on almost all issues, leaving aside only the main sensitivities. Geographical Indications (GIs) continue to be a very delicate issue and will only be discussed in the endgame phase.
