Swedish Cecilia Malmström Slated Next EU Trade Commissioner

If confirmed later this month as the EU’s next Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström will make one of her first objectives a political review of the 28-nation bloc’s ongoing trade talks with the US, the Swedish politician told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade earlier this week.

Malmström is one of the 28 commissioners-designate that were nominated by Juncker earlier this month. The European Parliament, which must sign off on the slate of commissioners as a whole, has been holding hearings with each official this week.

The official is currently part of José Manuel Barroso’s outgoing College of Commissioners, helming the Commission on Home Affairs. (See Bridges Weekly, 18 September 2014)

Malmström’s testimony comes in the middle of the seventh round of TTIP negotiations, which are being held from 29 September-3 October in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

The size and scope of the deal has made it both high-profile and controversial. The talks were launched over a year ago with the aim of reducing trade barriers and generating job opportunities and economic growth on both sides of Atlantic. The last round of negotiations was held in Brussels in July.

ISDS in focus

In the questioning that followed her opening remarks, Malmström was asked various questions over the issue of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) with relation to TTIP. The US has made clear that it would like to see this provision in a final deal.

Earlier this year, the portion of the TTIP talks dealing with investment protections was suspended, after the European Commission decided to hold a public consultation on the subject.