Friday, 25 January 2018, Brussels: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to discuss finalising trade agreement talks that could be concluded by the end of this year.
European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, is expected to travel to the South Pacific island nation to coordinate talks, as the free trade agreement’s trickiest points fall under his portfolio.
Juncker underlined during his meeting that both sides should do anything possible to conclude the agreement before the end of this year, before the end of my mandate.
President Juncker likewise noted that the EU and New Zealand are aligned when it comes to reforming the WTO.
Prime Minister Ardern recently underlined that the relationship with the EU goes beyond simple economic questions and that with the pace of the EU-New Zealand trade negotiations are moving forward. The number of meetings being held and the upcoming visit of Hogan to Wellington indicates that she shares and welcomes similar goals expressed by the EU.
According to Hogan, the European Commission is working through the mandate approved by the European Council and the European Parliament while carrying out the talks with their counterparts from New Zealand.
Hogan suggested that the EU has some concerns about market access that it will fully address in a report that will be published in February that will most likely address these issues, including the question of quotas, which Brussels opposes. Hogan moreover stated that access connected to beef, dairy and sheep also shall not be fully liberalised.
For further information:
New Zealand-EU trade: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/new-zealand/
