Today, the European Commission launched a major review of the European Union’s trade policy, including a public consultation seeking input from for the European Parliament, Member States, stakeholders and civil society.
The Commission’s objective is to build a consensus around a fresh medium-term direction for EU trade policy, responding to a variety of new global challenges and taking into account the lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, said: “To help repair the economic and social damage brought by the coronavirus pandemic, kick-start European recovery, and protect and create jobs, we have recently proposed a major recovery plan for Europe based on harnessing the full potential of the EU budget. The European Union is the world’s trading superpower.
Open and rules-based trade will contribute significantly to the global recovery. We need to make sure that trade policy serves our citizens and companies. Today, we launch a trade policy review in order to adjust the EU’s approach to the global trade at this critical moment for the global economy.”
Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Trade, commented: “The current pandemic is reshaping the world as we know it, and our trade policy must adapt to be more effective in pursuing European interests. So today we are asking for the views of our citizens and stakeholders to help us develop a bespoke EU trade policy approach for the post-coronavirus world.
We want our policy to continue benefiting our people and our companies, enhancing our global leadership ambitions across a range of areas while taking a tougher approach to defend ourselves from any hostile or abusive actions.
We must keep trade free and fair, underpinned by appropriate rules both within the EU27 and globally. With this review, we will listen to everyone who has a stake.”
The results of this consultation will feed into a communication to be published towards the end of the year.
Daniel Rosario – Kinga Malinowska –