TTIP talks: Parliament committees discuss recommendations for negotiators

Concern about the lack of tangible progress in TTIP talks were voiced by International trade MEPs who on Tuesday debated their draft recommendations for the TTIP negotiators. Lively discussion concerned the investor-to-state dispute-settlement clause, dubbed unnecessary by the chairman, Bernd Lange (pictured) (DE, S&D). Meanwhile, the development committee adopted an opinion stressing the impact of TTIP on developing countries and calling for the deal to have an explicit reference to development policy.

International trade committee debate on TTIP recommendations

The international trade committee, which is taking the lead in drafting Parliament's recommendations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal, held its first discussion on Tuesday (24 February) on the text drafted by its chairman, Bernd Lange. Not all the members of the committee shared his view that the investor-to-state dispute settlement clause was "not necessary" in the deal.

Both Lange and other speakers noted that, after 18 months and eight rounds of talks, the EU and US did not seem to have clinched any far-reaching or game-changer deals, and voiced their concern that the current talks lacked ambition and the final deal might not be as comprehensive as Parliament expected.

You can rewatch the debate here.

Development committee asks to evaluate TTIP impact on developing world

The opinion on the TTIP talks adopted on Tuesday by the development committee, which will feed into Parliament's final recommendations, says TTIP will have implications far beyond the EU-US relationship and is sure to have an impact on developing countries. That is why this committee wants an explicit reference to development policy in the deal and is asking the Commission to evaluate TTIP’s possible implications for developing countries.

The development committee's opinion (adopted by 16 votes to 7, with 1 abstention) describes TTIP as a "mega trade deal" likely to shape global trade rules and set new standards. It wants TTIP to include an "explicit reference" to development policy as a legitimate public policy objective and calls on the Commission to make an independent study of TTIP's impact on developing countries “once the provisions of TTIP are clearer”.

Next steps

The development committee's opinion will be taken into account by the international trade committee which will vote on which points to include in Parliaments recommendations to TTIP negotiators to be adopted May this year.

All information about the European Parliament's work and role in the ongoing talks on the TTIP can be found in the Background Note.

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