According to the president of the European Parliament´s international trade committee, the TTIP is in troubled waters and needs a fresh start in order to achieve a majority approval in the assembly. The lack of transparency in the beginning, as well as some specific issues such as ISDS, have raised huge scepticism about the trade deal. However, the negotiations have been going on for 18 months now and the Commission would like them to conclude this year. Then, lawyers and other experts will prepare the exact wording of the agreement, which will then be subject to approval by the Council and by the European Parliament. The EC has been working hard to improve transparency, with many negotiating documents now accessible to the public. But the final wording of the deal will only be published once finalized.

Also the Commissioner for Health Andriukaitis stated last week, that there is not yet a clear majority for the TTIP. Health issues are among those causing the scepticism, for example the so-called chlorine chicken or GMOs. Sceptics fear that mutual recognition of food safety standards would effectively lower the higher standards in the EU to the lower levels in the US, although in reality the standards are comparable.

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