From Monday 20th April to Friday 24th April 2015, the 9th round of the EU and US negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) took place in New York where delegations have worked on three key pillars: market access, regulatory cooperation and rules.
– Overview about the 9th round of TTIP negotiations in New York
The EU had tabled a revised EU proposal on horizontal regulatory cooperation that seeks to involve government regulators at the sub-central level. Both sides combined their proposals into a consolidated document, although this does not necessarily mean that they have reached an agreement.
During the negotiations week, a stakeholder forum took place on 23rd April. EU and US negotiators exchanged their views with civil society representative who had the opportunity to present their concerns and proposals.
On the final day of the negotiation round, Friday 24th April, a press conference took place and Ignacio Garcia Bercero, the EU Chief Negotiator in the TTIP talks, commented that there are specific areas where the negotiators have been specifically asked to make as much technical progress as possible. This is in order to prepare these sector-specific regulatory talks in preparation for a “joint regulatory review” which is planned for September or October. The aim of that review is to evaluate whether the two sides are able to achieve some kind of great regulatory cooperation in those sectors within the context of TTIP.
The next 10th negotiations round will take place in July in Brussels.
– The impact of TTIP for Health in Europe
In this video, EPHA policy coordinator Zoltán Massay-Kosubek addresses the impact of TTIP for health in Europe, covering five key areas: health services (1), healthcare systems (2), the inclusion of ISDS and its effect on healthcare (3), the cost of medicines (4) as well as the regulation on professional’s standards and qualifications (5).
You can watch the video HERE which discusses the following questions:
– Are TTIP and other free-trade agreements a threat to our health services?
– If Healthcare services are to included in the trade deal, how will this effect the average?
– How would the inclusion of ISDS affect the healthcare and public health of Europe?
– Will the governments be able to regulate professional standards and qualifications for health care workers in the same way they do now?
– Will TTIP have an effect on the cost of medicines?
