News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Happy New Year, dear subscribers! The year 2018 will offer a very narrow window of opportunity to bring key EU trade policy files forward. On the EU’s plate this year: finalise trade negotiations with Mexico and Mercosur, get key trade agreements with Singapore, Vietnam and Japan through the European …
This week could seal the fate of quite a few EU trade policy files: the overhaul of the EU’s dumping regulation, the EU Mercosur trade deal and the Brexit talks. TDI reform agreement? Expectations are high that the EU will announce a deal tomorrow on the overhaul of …
The French government announced an ‘action plan’ on the EU Canada CETA agreement on Wednesday (25 October 2017). A deep dive into the 20-page document reveals how Macron’s government is manoeuvring to make highly contested trade agreements back home palatable to his party base and the electorate when it puts …
The French government plans to put CETA to ratification in its national assembly in the second half of 2018. In the meantime Paris will work on means to introduce what it termed an “environmental veto” on investor-state disputes that could jeopardise climate policies, ministers announced today. The EU Canada …
As CETA comes into force provisionally on Thursday (21 September 2017), the following countries have ratified the EU Canadian trade agreement, Portugal being the latest one: Portugal (20 September) Czech Republic (13 September 2017) Malta (19 July 2017) Croatia (30 June 2017) Spain (29 June 2017) Denmark (1 June …
Not every day is scoop bonanza in trade policy. One of these days seems to be today. But there are a few files sizzling in the background that will lead to further stories down the road. CETA day coming Of course, tomorrow, 21 September, CETA is coming into …
The expert commission on CETA set up by the French government to assess the agreement’s impact on EU environmental and health effects published its report on Friday (8 September 2016). It makes ten recommendations for further action on the EU Canada trade agreement. Follow-up moves by the French government will …
Sneaky. But unsurprising. France’s constitutional council delivered its verdict on the EU Canada CETA free trade agreement in the depths of summer. On the very last day of July 2017, France’s so-called ‘wise men’ disclosed that they had strictly no objections to the controversial trade deal which more than …
PSOE chief Pedro Sanchez announced his party would not ‘support CETA’, marking a notable u-turn. Spanish socialists, the main opposition party, have so far proven to be in favour of ratifying the EU Canada trade agreement, but internal divisions over the stance have come to the open. The party …
France’s constitutional council has decided to postpone its decision on the compatibility of the EU Canadian trade pact CETA with the French constitution. France’s court was seized one month ago by more than 100 French MPs, with the legal support of three NGOs: Foodwatch Europe, the Institut Veblen and the …
