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Minister Toivakka to Brussels to attend the meeting of EU Trade Ministers

Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Publication date 6.5.2015 16.15
Press release 125/2015

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Lenita Toivakka will participate in the European Union Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) meeting in Brussels on 7 May.

“The topics for the meeting are pivotal to a country like Finland, which is dependent on trade,” Minister Toivakka stresses. “Finland strongly supports the EU’s efforts to liberalise international trade because exports are so important to own our economy. Finnish enterprises benefit from the opening up of markets, both directly and indirectly. More than half of Finnish exports are destined for the EU, so when exports are booming in EU countries, that means work also for Finnish enterprises,” Toivakka states.

The Ministers will discuss the situation concerning negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the United States as well as the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström is expected to reveal the Commission’s preliminary views on revision of the ISDS.

In addition, the discussion will address the progress of the TTIP negotiations more widely. Commissioner Malmström will report on her discussions with United States Trade Representative Michael Froman. Finland’s aim is an agreement that supports employment and growth. The Commission’s efforts to reform the ISDS are positive and Finland takes an active role in the discussion of this issue.

The Ministers will continue their discussion of the situation with regard to the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) round of negotiations. Finland hopes that, during the current year, the WTO will reach a solution for a balanced working programme so that the Doha round of negotiations can continue and be concluded quickly.

The Council of Ministers will exchange views concerning the ongoing negotiations dealing with liberalisation of the environmental goods trade (the Environmental Goods Agreement, EGA). Finland strongly supports the conclusion of negotiations during this year and aims for an ambitious outcome that would include an extensive product list, an update mechanism for the agreement, environmental services and trade barriers outside of customs duties. 

The Ministers will also make preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Riga on 21–22 May 2015. The previous corresponding summit took place in Vilnius in November 2013. The aim of the Riga Summit is to demonstrate the EU’s commitment to the Eastern Partnership.

After the Council of Ministers meeting proper, Minister Toivakka will also participate in a joint EU trade ministerial meeting with Eastern Partnership countries.

Additional information: Director General Markku Keinänen, tel. +358 295 351 460 and Tuomas Rajala, Press Attach to the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, mobile tel. +358 50 574 2539.

Lenita Toivakka
 
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