The European Union has extended its existing trade preferences to the Western Balkans for another five years until 31 December 2025. 

The European Commission has today set in place a new system for the appointment of arbitrators, also referred to as adjudicators, to handle disputes under the EU’s trade and investment agreements.

The Commission’s second Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List, published today, names websites and physical marketplaces outside the EU that are reported to engage in, facilitate or benefit from counterfeiting and piracy.

On the occasion of the EU27-LAC Informal Ministerial Meeting in Berlin on 14 December, the ratification and entry into force of the EU-Mercosur Agreement were discussed.

The final ruling of a dispute settlement panel set up under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement found that the Ukrainian ban on the exports of all unprocessed wood is incompatible with the Association Agreement.

In 2015, Ukraine introduced a 10-year export ban for all unprocessed wood, amending and supplementing a ban of 2005 on ten wood species of low commercial relevance. The EU raised the export ban with Ukraine at all levels and instances since 2015.

The European Commission published today the report summarising progress made during the latest negotiation round to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with five Eastern and Southern African partners.

The ninth round of negotiations for an EU-New Zealand trade agreement was held from 23 to 30 November 2020 by videoconference.

The Ottawa Group, a group of 13 like-minded WTO partners including the EU, agreed today on an initiative, calling on the WTO members to increase their cooperation and work toward enhanced global rules to facilitate trade in essential medical goods.