Reacting to the adoption of the draft European Parliament’s recommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) by the International Trade (INTA) Committee of the European Parliament, CEEP General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti commented:

“In order to support the creation of sustainable growth and jobs in Europe, free trade agreement negotiations should not put the provision of high-quality and affordable services of general interest under pressure.
We believe that TiSA negotiations have a great potential to shape globalisation and set up fair international trade standards guaranteeing the respect of the EU acquis. In a constructive way, the INTA committee requested the EU to fully seize this opportunity.
Most importantly for us, the committee has reasserted its position on the exclusion of services of general (economic) interest. It sends a clear signal that the Commission’s current approach on the safeguard of services of general interest based on the public utilities clause is insufficient. As proposed in the report, a ‘golden standard’ clause would significantly increase legal certainty and predictability, which are key factors to foster investments in physical and social infrastructures.
Ahead of the plenary vote, CEEP calls MEPs for strong support of Ms Reding’s report.”