What TTIP deal does Europe want?

Two years after negotiations began, the European view on TTIP has toned down to realism. Overly optimistic projections about the gains for European business have given way to a more sober view on the possible gains and losses and their spread across the EU economies. Likewise, the high running opposition to the agreement receded as a result of greater transparency of the process and better access to negotiations documents for members of Parliament and EU governments.

With Cecilia Malmström as new Trade Commissioner, a more balanced approach to the negotiations now has a publicly credible face. Regarding the wider political meaning of TTIP, much of the high talk of the earlier stages is gone. In light of the Ukraine war and Russia’s policy, in the face of an ever more ascertained role of China in its neighbourhood, a TTIP deal could hardly become the glue of the West, an 'economic NATO' or the 'gold standard' of international trade negotiations.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key Source: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) http://www.europeansources.info/record/transatlantic-trade-and-investment-partnership-ttip/

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