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| Transparency in question |
The publication in Le Monde comes less than two weeks before the 13th round of EU-US talks on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) kicks off in New York on April 25.
"Certain documents must stay confidential, either those related to tactical comments directly referencing Europe’s negotiating stance or those citing US documents, which are not for us to publish," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in the article.
The TTIP deal, which aims to deregulate trade US-EU trade, has been criticized for lack of transparency, prompting the Commission to publish some of the TTIP documents.
Malmstroem stressed that TTIP documents in question would be made available to national parliaments of EU member states, offering a degree of openness that had not been there before. Parliaments will also be the last to decide on the trade pact once the Commission is done negotiating it, she added.
European lawmakers have laid down a set of principles they want to be observed during the ongoing talks, including greater transparency, inviolability of social and environmental standards, and respect of EU’s red lines, she continued.
Last year, the secretive deal sparked widespread concern that it would lower environmental, health, safety, and workers’ rights standards in Europe, as well as enable the extra-judicial settlement of disputes in circumvention of national sovereignty.
Read more: EU to Keep Part of TTIP Trade Deal Papers Under Wraps – Trade Commissioner
