(Hina) - It is in the interest of the European Union and its members as well as in the interest of the United States of America to conclude the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that will facilitate trade, and a precise analysis of the agreement’s effects on the economy is difficult to make before the conclusion of the agreement, Croatian Deputy Foreign Minister Joško Klisović said in Brussels on Thursday.
Klisović discarded criticism from activists in Europe and Croatia that the TTIP is actually a Trojan horse that would be detrimental to European standards and European citizens and that it will only serve the interests of multinational companies.
Klisović arrived in Brussels for an EU Council meeting on the current state of affairs in the negotiations on the TTIP.
So far, nine rounds of the talks have been held, with the last having taken place in New York some ten days ago.
Asked by the press whether Croatia has an analysis of the TTIP’s effects, the official said that a price analysis would be possible after all details were hammered out.
Croatian institutes will be engaged in making such analyses and experts from those institutes have already been contacted about that task.
Klisović also rejected criticism about the “secrecy” of the negotiations and insists that these have been the most transparent talks so far.