The TTIP is a deal currently being negotiated by the European Union and the United States, which aims to eliminate trade barriers in a number of economic sectors to facilitate trade between the two regions.
“[EU Trade] Commissioner [Cecilia] Malmstrom has launched a transparency initiative when she took over, and that is part of a fresh start in TTIP negotiations,” the source told Sputnik, adding that Malmstrom’s proposal is “when the negotiations enter the next round, the negotiations text and proposals that the EU is putting on the table will be accessible in the reading room in the European Parliament.”
The source in the European Commission said that following Commissioner Malmstrom’s initiative, it is now up to the European Parliament to set up a reading room and make the text accessible to all the members of the European Parliament.
The European Commission, according to the source, supports wide public awareness of the negotiations and seeks to guarantee more transparency.
Last November, Cecilia Malmstrom announced steps to boost the transparency of the TTIP talks. The measures include extending access to TTIP texts to all Members of the European Parliament and publishing texts setting out the EU's specific negotiating proposals on TTIP.
Thousands of Europeans have signed petitions, urging that the negotiations on the trade deal between Washington and Brussels are halted and claiming that the agreement would negatively impact the European Union's economy.
