H.E. Mr. Patrick Engelberg:

It is indeed sometimes interesting to notice that all the problems with TTIP raised in Europe find their echo in the US. We are not the only ones having problems with certain aspects of it, such as transparency and secrecy, as Deputy Halligan mentioned, and investor state dispute settlement, ISDS, as the Vice Chairman mentioned. There are similar concerns in the US. That is true. My impression is that the Commission understands this message on transparency and openness and has now adopted a much more open and transparent approach. I think it has been understood that this is the biggest obstacle to public acceptance of TTIP. All of the 28 member states and the Commission believe that TTIP is a positive instrument to boost trade between Europe and the US so long as certain guarantees and conditions are met. Deputy Halligan mentioned some and the Vice Chairman mentioned another, which is ISDS. It is also interesting to note that the debate is not exactly the same in different countries. Some countries seem to be more sensitive to certain aspects of it. Public opinion in Luxembourg is also quite sensitive to the matters of transparency, democracy and accountability, and what ISDS could mean if we had gone along with the first version of it.