Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Toivakka participates in EU trade and development ministers' meetings
Press release 89/2016
11 May 2016
The Foreign Affairs Council will meet in the configuration of development ministers on Thursday 12 May and in the configuration of trade ministes on Friday 13 May. Finland's representative in both meetings will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka.
The development ministers will debate the revision of the European Consensus on Development in light of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the role of the private sector in the implementation of the 2030 agenda, joint programming of external assistance, and the relation between migration and development issues. At lunch, the ministers will meet the Afghan Minister of Finance Eklil Ahmad Hakimi and discuss the preparations of the ministerial conference on Afghanistan, scheduled to take place in October.
"It is important for Finland that the partner countries' responsibility for their own development is emphasised in the revision of the European consensus on development. One way to do this is to strengthen their own tax base," says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka. "We must also consider how the EU's development cooperation can better respond to the root causes of migration. Additionally, it is important to take care that human rights and gender equality remain the main pillars of the EU's activities also in the future," emphasises minister Toivakka.
The trade ministers' agenda highlights will include the WTO negotiations, the negotiations between the EU and the United States on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP), the trade policy aspects in the steel Communication, as well as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. Over lunch, the ministers will consider the current situation and future of the proposal for a regulation on conflict minerals.
Furthermore, the ministers will assess the prospects of the WTO Doha development agenda (DDA) following the ministerial conference in Nairobi in 2015 and discuss the preparations for the WTO ministerial conference in 2017. "Finland considers it important that the WTO would also discuss new topics outside the DDA, such as electronic commerce, non-tariff trade barriers, industrial products' market access on a sectoral basis, different subsidies and investments," says minister Toivakka.
The next round of TTIP talks will be organised in Brussels in July. Finland supports the negotiations on an ambitious and comprehensive agreement between the EU and the United States. Finland also lays special emphasis on improved market access for small and medium-sized companies and continues to highlight the importance of transparency in the negotiations.
Inquiries: Markku Keinänen, Director General, Department for External Economic Relations, tel. +358295 351 460, Sari Lehtiranta, Director, Unit for Development Policy, tel. +358 295 352 139, Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358295 350 633.