Brussels, 22 January 2024
The informal meeting of Trade Ministers is largely dominated by preparations for the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, to be held on 26-29 February in Abu Dhabi. In addition, topics such as open strategic Autonomy and the ongoing trade cases in the European Parliament will also be discussed.
An opening reception and dinner will be held on 22 January at the Centre for Fine Arts Bozar, during which An Pierlé will provide a musical performance. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, accepted Minister Hadja Lahbib’s invitation to give a keynote speech as the guest of honour. Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis from the European Commission will also make an intervention.
Two working sessions will be held at the Egmont Palace on 23 January.
Preparation for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference
The first working session is focused on the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), which will start in Abu Dhabi in a month’s time (26-29 February).
Based on EVP Dombrovskis’ briefing, the Ministers will discuss EU priorities and possible outcomes of MC13. The discussions will focus on reforms necessary to the dispute settlement mechanism, industrial subsidies, e-commerce, fisheries and agriculture. Five weeks before the conference, Ministers also discuss issues of coordination and outreach.
Trade policy to enhance the EU’s open strategic autonomy
The second working session will focus on open strategic autonomy, a cross-cutting priority of the Belgian presidency and a topic in which EU trade policy can play a vital role by enhancing the Union’s resilience and competitiveness and ensuring a level playing field. Open strategic autonomy helps underpin a strong role for the EU in the world, with a focus on openness, sustainability and assertiveness. Openness as the foundation of our prosperity, sustainability to contribute to our net-zero goals, and assertiveness to enable us to deal with growing risks in a rapidly changing environment, while protecting our values and interests.
As the world’s largest trading bloc, we have every interest in defending the rules-based trading system and our open strategic autonomy. Both face a number of challenges today, three of which stand out: geo-economic fragmentation, policy coherence and economic security.
During this working session, among the things Ministers will discuss will be the concrete needs for the dual transition and the main challenges and risks for the EU’s open strategic autonomy in terms of trade, the trade instruments available and the role of the private sector, especially SMEs, in our economic security strategy. As AOB, some exchanges are also planned on the situation in the Red Sea and its impact on international trade.
Current trade cases in the European Parliament
Following the two working sessions, Minister Lahbib will give the floor to Chairman Bernd Lange of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) to give an overview of ongoing trade cases in the run-up to the European elections. Then the floor will be given to EVP Dombrovskis and Trade Ministers for interventions and exchanges of views.
At the conclusion of the informal meeting, Minister Lahbib and Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis will hold a press conference.
Source – Belgian EU Presidency