In June 2013, the Council adopted the mandate for the European Commission to start negotiations with the United States on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP). According to the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament’s consent will be required in order for TTIP to enter into force. Due to the high trade volume between the EU and the USA, this agreement would establish the world’s largest free trade zone. At the same time, the agreement intends to cover not only traditional market access provisions, but also provisions on investment protection, services, public procurement, non-tariff barriers and trade related rules. Due to the magnitude of the agreement, TTIP has received unprecedented attention.

Negotiations began in July 2013. The premature positioning of some political groups either in favor or against TTIP can hardly be considered a serious political approach that would do justice to the importance of this agreement. It should be the final negotiated text which will have to be thoroughly analyzed and evaluated. The fact that we take our right of veto very seriously was demonstrated by the clear rejection by the European Parliament of the ACTA agreement