German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, on 18 June, that Berlin was still aiming at a political framework for a comprehensive trade deal between the EU and the US by the end of this year.
In a speech delivered in the Bundestag, Merkel said that Germany would reap enormous economic benefits from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
The message came on the eve of the 25-26 June European Council, where the leaders are expected to reiterate their support for…
Schulz’s credibility at stake
The recent developments at the European Parliament, which saw the last-minute postponement of the plenary vote on the TTIP draft resolution over strong disagreements on the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, add to growing uncertainty around the ongoing EU-US talks. On 29 June, MEPs will decide through a vote in the Committee on International Trade (INTA) which amendments should be re-tabled for plenary vote. According to sources, none of the political groups is ready to back down on its demands. It is likely therefore that all the 116 amendments, including the one on the ISDS sponsored by the S&D (AM 115), will make their way back to the plenary – a development that might postpone the plenary vote for weeks or even months. To prevent this embarrassing situation, European Parliament President Martin Schulz has to hammer out a compromise on the ISDS between the Socialists and Conservatives (EPP, ECR and ALDE). Since the deadline for submitting amendments has already expired, only the EP president has the right to submit compromise amendments to plenary vote.
