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At Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) meeting on 21 November in Brussels, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Rolandas Kriščiūnas stressed that effective trade defence instruments were extremely important in the fight against unfair practices by third country and in ensuring equal competitive conditions for producers in Europe, while these measures must not be updated at the expense of EU industry.

The Council meeting discussed updating the EU’s trade defence instruments.

“Dual pricing of raw materials and energy is an obvious distortion in the market, which our manufacturers face every day, especially in such energy-intensive industries such as fertiliser production. In such cases, trade defence instruments play a particularly important role in improving the conditions under which EU businesses can compete,” said R.Kriščiūnas.

The Council adopted its conclusions on TTIP, highlighting the significance of the negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Council’s consistent support of the negotiations process and the necessity to conclude a deep, ambitious, balanced and mutually beneficial TTIP Agreement.

“Since TTIP negotiations are exceptional because of both the scope and strategic and geopolitical importance, it is very important for the two sides to maintain a high level of ambition and aim to deliver a high quality result,” said R.Kriščiūnas stressing that TTIP would significantly contribute towards strengthening of the EU’s energy security and facilitating access to the U.S. energy resources.

The Council also discussed possibilities of achieving a breakthrough aimed at full implementation of the results of the Bali Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, firstly, the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and paving the way towards concluding the Doha Development Agenda.

The Council took stock of ongoing free trade negotiations with Japan and Vietnam, also discussed a Commission‘s proposal to create EU public procurement intrument, which would introduce reciprocity instrument in negotiations with the third parties for opening the markets for public procurement. This is of particular importance in free trade negotiations with the United States and Japan.

In her address, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stressed the importance of EU trade policy in the context of EU foreign policy.

Cecilia Malmström, the European Union’s new Trade Commissioner-designate, presented common trade policy priorities. The Council adopted conclusions on trade, noting that industry can make a significant contribution to promoting sustainable growth and create more and better jobs. The Council reiterated the EU’s determination to promote free, fair and open trade.