French politician questions what's next for EU-U.S. TTIP negotiations
One day after Greenpeace published a package of leaked documents into the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, a French trade minister has said the talks could come to a halt.
Speaking on the French radio station Europe 1 on May 3, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade and Promotion of Tourism, Matthias Fekl, claimed TTIP discussions will likely stop.
He claimed some kind of freeze is the most likely option, without a change on the U.S. side and spoke about how Europe is offering a lot and not getting too much in return.
Fekl has heavily criticized TTIP in the past, and last year spoke about his concern that it does not offer any safeguards for French agriculture or will help small-scale farming businesses to get better market access.
In the fall of 2015 he said how France was considering all options, including completely terminating negotiations.
TTIP is a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. aiming to promote trade and multilateral economic growth. It must be approved by all 28 EU countries.
However, there is some suspicion, particularly on the European side, that trade, particularly for smaller and medium-sized businesses in the agri-food sector, will be hindered and not helped.
Many believe the agreement favors U.S. exports to the detriment of European production.
On Monday (May 2), Greenpeace also published a 248-page document which it claimed provided 'much-needed transparency on the debate' and will 'trigger an informed debate on a treaty threatening to have far-reaching implications for the environment and the lives of almost one billion citizens in the EU and U.S.'
Meanwhile, the Spanish agricultural organization and Union for Small farmers, USP, also expressed its concerns following the published papers, claiming the documents confirm what the European Spanish agricultural sector had already feared.
The latest round of talks took place last week and the European Commission hopes a deal will be reached by the end of this year.
Photo: www.shutterstock.com
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