A fresh start for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

To which extent can Bulgaria win or lose from the signing of TTIP? Is the criticism against it populism? Are there concrete elements of the agreement from which Bulgaria can truly benefit? These questions will be addressed during the discussion, organised by ECFR – Sofia.

Guests

Dzema Grozdanova, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the National Assembly

Bojidar Loukarsky, Minister of Economy

Josef Janning, Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR

Andrey Kovatchev, Member of the European Parliament

Chaired by

Vessela Tcherneva, Director of programme “Wider Europe”, ECFR

While the European Commission and European policy makers have long championed a new trade agreement with the United States as a way to boost growth and employment in Europe, the public has grown increasingly sceptical towards the agreement. Certain elements of the agreement such as the planned investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) have especially been strongly criticised. While the recent turn towards more transparency in the negotiations is a first step towards winning back public support, it will not be enough – the European Commission needs to restart its communication and negotiation strategy for the agreement. To which extent can Bulgaria win or lose from the signing of TTIP? Is the criticism against it populism? Are there concrete elements of the agreement from which Bulgaria can truly benefit? These questions will be addressed during the discussion, organised by ECFR – Sofia.