Fast-track EU Trade Agreements
The European Commission (EC) is negotiating separate agreements on trade matters, which fall under the exclusive competence of the EU, and other issues such as investment protection, for which the Union and the Member States share responsibility. Separating the purely commercial component avoids the need to ratify trade deals in individual EU countries and allows them to be adopted by the European Council by a qualified majority. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of trade policy by preventing deals from being delayed excessively, or even blocked.
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