European Parliament postpones decision on trade deal with US

(Patria) - The European Parliament yesterday postponed the announced decision to unfreeze the ratification process of the trade agreement between the EU and the US, but hinted that it would do so later.

After two and a half hours of closed-door discussions, members of the Committee on International Trade failed to agree on whether to put the transatlantic agreement to a vote, despite announcements that this would be done after US President Donald Trump withdrew threats of imposing new tariffs on European countries.

- Of course, we want an agreement, but we need to know what is in the agreement that Trump has reached with the NATO Secretary General - said Social Democrat MEP Kathleen van Brempt after the meeting, Politico reports.

The Parliament froze the ratification of the agreement signed by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in July, after the US President threatened tariffs on European allies supporting Greenland.

At yesterday's meeting, MEPs largely agreed to move forward with the ratification process of the agreement, but opinions were divided on whether more details about the Trump-Rutte agreement should be requested first.

The right-wing European People's Party wants to proceed with ratification as soon as possible, as it is best for the stability of European companies, and the Patriots group of MEPs also requested this.

On the other hand, the Socialists, Liberals, and Greens demanded to "play harder" and asked to see many more details from the Trump-Rutte agreement before ratification, pointing to Trump's unpredictability.

Yesterday's meeting discussed whether to formally ask the European Commission to initiate the first, investigative phase of the potential application of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, but there was no majority for this.

- The next meeting will be held on February 4, and then the next steps will be decided - said the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange.