MFA: Minister Mykkänen to informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Bratislava

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
http://formin.finland.fi/english

Press release 175/2016
22 September 2016

Minister Mykkänen to informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Bratislava

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen will participate in the informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Bratislava gathering in the configuration of trade ministers.

The items on the agenda of the informal Council meeting in Bratislava include the TTIP negotiations between the EU and the USA, the signature and provisional application of the EU-Canada comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), as well as the modernisation of the EU's trade policy instruments.  In informal meetings, official decisions are not made.

The Council is expected to assess the stage in the TTIP negotiations on the basis of the review submitted by the Commission. The next round in the TTIP negotiations will be organised in early October in New York.

Under the second agenda item, the ministers intend to discuss the preparations related to the signing and provisional application of CETA. The aim is that CETA will be signed at the next EU-Canada Summit on 27 October 2016. Canada's Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland is expected to attend the Council of Ministers' dinner in Bratislava.

The Council of Ministers will also deal with the reform of the anti-dumping and coutervailing duty legislation, based on an account presented by EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström.

In addition, the Council will review the progress made in the negotiations related to the liberalisation of services trade and the removal of duties on environmental products. The aim is to finalise the negotiations on both issues by the end of this year.

In connection with the meeting, Minister Mykkänen will have bilateral meetings with, for example, the trade ministers of Canada, the UK, Spain and Estonia.

Inquiries: Markku Keinänen, Director General, tel. +358 295 351 460, Suvi Aherto, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 50 349 6121, Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 352 0463

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are of the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.