EU Trade Ministers Prepare for MC11, Review FTA Negotiating Progress

Trade negotiations in the WTO context and with major partners were high on the agenda as European trade ministers met within the EU Foreign Affairs Council last week in Brussels, Belgium. The 10 November meet was meant to review negotiating progress to date, as well as consider the bloc’s approach heading into key events during the final weeks of 2017. The gathering marked the final such meeting before they reconvene on the sidelines of the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Along with reviewing MC11 preparations, ministers also took stock of progress in ongoing trade talks with various major players, and lent their political backing towards the prompt conclusion of agreements with Mexico and Mercosur, according to an outcome document circulated after the Council meet. Preparations for MC11 Ministers discussed the role of the EU at MC11, agreeing on “the need for the EU to work towards a substantive and balanced outcome to the ministerial conference,” according to the summary of outcomes. The ministerial conference is the WTO’s highest decision-making body, usually taking place every two years. Among EU priorities at MC11, “our main aim remains to confirm the central role of the WTO in the multilateral...