The top trade officials from the EU and US agreed to ramp up the pace of bilateral negotiations for a wide-reaching trade and investment deal, following a “political stocktaking” meeting expected to set the tone of the talks through the rest of the year. During their discussions in Washington on Tuesday, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and US Trade Representative Michael Froman also confirmed that meetings between their respective negotiating teams would be “intensified,” including through intersessional, technical discussions. “We need to intensify the pace of our negotiations,” Malmström said afterwards. “This means stepping up efforts on both sides. Today’s meeting took place in a constructive spirit, and we have a good momentum going forward to the next negotiating round.” The two sides are slated to hold their next negotiating round in October, though the exact dates and venue have yet to be officially confirmed. That meeting would mark the eleventh round since the talks began in mid-2013. (See Bridges Weekly, 23 July 2015 ) Investment court proposal The TTIP talks have been said to be lagging throughout the past year and much of 2014 as well. However, the indication from G-7 leaders that they aim to see a deal...