Trade Deal Negotiations
A rift between the US and EU appears to have opened up on the issue of how to regulate consumer products. The US is eager for the EU to consider lightening its regulatory regime. However, on Tuesday, at a meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee, MEPs expressed a desire to retain the EU’s higher (some might say stricter) standard of regulation for consumer products. French member of the Social Democrats, Françoise Castex said “We have to remember that we shouldn’t go more quickly than citizens can accept.”
If only to demonstrate this difference in approach, 19 Member States voted on Tuesday against the Commission’s proposal to approve a type of genetically modified (GM) maize. Their efforts were not enough to stop approval of the crop (due to the EU’s complex weighted voting system) but it is unlikely that they will let this decision rest – creating the potential for further difficulties in the negotiations with the US. The EU has operated an effective ban on GM crops for several years and has only approved one other form of GM crop for commercial cultivation. In comparison, in the US, regulators have tended to take a less strict approach to GM crops where they are widely grown.
Election of the new Commission
MEPs also agreed this week the process by which the next European Commission and President will be chosen. The two central themes to the agreement were that the Council, upon designating a candidate for President, should consult the Parliament who after careful deliberation would ultimately elect the individual to the post.
A call was also issued requesting that ‘as many members of the next Commission as possible are chosen from among elected Members of the European Parliament’.
The report detailing these provisions was passed by the Constitutional Affairs Committee this week and will have to be ratified in Plenary next month, but the agreement in Committee signals a clear commitment to move forward with the proposals.
Running out of time?
With the European Parliament elections looming, the Greek Presidency is frantically trying to ensure that as many legislative files as possible clear their respective procedural hurdles in time for May. Serious gains have been made in recent weeks with the Tobacco Products Directive clearing trilogue and a new agreement on clinical trials but several files remain, including the supposed priority of the Presidency – the behemoth that is the revision to the Medical Device Directive.
It is now generally accepted that a final agreement between the Parliament and Council on this file will not be possible this side of the elections. Instead, the Council is aiming to reach a position on the issue in June, with an expected final agreement with Parliament in late 2014 or even early 2015. In this instance, it looks like the Member States have called it correctly. They have opted for further consideration and negotiations, avoiding what would have been a hurried and messy compromise on a file that is set to completely redefine the regulatory framework for medical devices for many years to come.
Mark Johnson
Consultant, Decideum Ltd
Decideum is an independent public affairs agency specialising in UK and EU regulatory affairs