The EU Foreign Affairs Council, composed of Trade Ministers, met today in Luxembourg. Cyprus was represented by the Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, Mr Marios Panagides.
The discussions focused on preparations for the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will take place in mid-June in Geneva. In his intervention, Panagides acknowledged the challenges facing the WTO and stressed the importance of achieving ambitious results in the current negotiations, with WTO reform remaining the main priority for the European Union. He further stressed the importance of concluding the negotiations on fisheries subsidies, but also of developing a framework to support food security, a critical issue at the current juncture.
Further, the Director General, referring to EU-US trade relations, praised the role of the Trade and Technology Council in deepening transatlantic trade and investment relations and underlined the importance of building a positive agenda to achieve mutually beneficial results.
The 27 also exchanged views on the state of EU-China relations in view of the upcoming EU-China High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue.
Finally, during a working lunch, the 27 had the opportunity to exchange views on the ongoing EU trade negotiations with a particular focus on New Zealand, Australia, India and Indonesia, as well as on the implementation of the trade agreements that have been concluded and entered into force.
(M/F/EC)
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