Trade: EU reaches political agreement on updated enforcement regulation

The Council presidency has reached an agreement with the European Parliament on a revised enforcement regulation. The aim of this regulation is to better protect the EU's trade interests and rights in the context of the current blockage of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement system. The regulation also ensures that the EU can enforce its trade rights if one of its partners blocks the normal dispute settlement mechanism under bilateral treaties. Member states still have to approve the agreement by qualified majority.

The revised EU enforcement regulation amends the existing one, which has been in place since 2014 and provides a common legislative framework for the enforcement of the EU’s rights under international trade agreements. Thanks to these rules, the Commission is able to impose countermeasures at the end of dispute settlement procedures, once it receives authorisation from the WTO.

CONTINUE READING ON www.consilium.europa.eu