Karel De Gucht, Trade
(Belgium, Liberal)

Background

A lawyer by training, Karel De Gucht has returned to the Commission for a second term after having briefly served as European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid (replacing Commissioner Louis Michel in 2009). De Gucht is no stranger to the European political scene having served as a Member of the European Parliament between 1980 and 1994. De Gucht was also a prominent player in Belgian politics where he held the position of Minister for Foreign and European Affairs (2004 – 2009). Until January 2004, De Gucht was chairman of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) in Belgium.  

 

Stated objectives on taking office

• To further strengthen the multilateral trading system and to complete the Doha round of trade talks;
• To pursue an open market policy through the EU’s Market Access Strategy and to update and modernise the EU’s trade defence instruments;
• To deepen trade and investment links with India, Canada, Ukraine, Latin America and Euromed;
• To take economic cooperation with the US within the Trans-Atlantic Economic Council to a higher level and to improve the High Level Economic Dialogue with China;
• To successfully conclude the Economic Partnership Agreements with ACP countries and to renew the General System of Preferences (GSP);
• To ensure that European companies are treated fairly and given opportunities to expand their businesses.

Members of the Cabinet

Marc VANHEUKELEN, Head of Cabinet
Frank HOFFMEISTER, Deputy Head of Cabinet
Damien LEVIE, Member, Intellectual Property, Investment and Services
Marjut HANNONEN, Member, Biotech, Market Access and Sectoral Trade Issues
Gwendolyn RUTTEN, Member, Inter-institutional Relations, Trade, Energy and Raw Materials

 

Main actions to date

• Working closely with the EU’s partners in the WTO to ensure the effective conclusion of the Doha Development Round;
• Enhancing the EU-Asia trade relationship by advancing the EU’s bilateral trade relationship with China and Japan, agreeing to launch bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Vietnam in the near future, officially launching FTA negotiations with Singapore, reviving the bilateral FTA negotiations with India and continuing talks with ASEAN;
• Re-launching the negotiations on an Association Agreement with Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), following the suspension of trade talks in 2004;
• Furthering discussions with the US on the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) in the aftermath of the economic recession;
• Launching a public consultation to support the review of the EU’s General System of Preferences (GSP), with the aim of promoting aid effectiveness and sustainable development;
• Initiating public dialogue on the future of trade policy in the EU in the current economic environment.

What to expect

Although he can be expected to follow the trade policy objectives pursued by his predecessors Catherine Ashton and Peter Mandelson, De Gucht will certainly make his own mark. Known for his blunt political style, De Gucht is also seen as a pragmatist. De Gucht has set the reaching of an agreement on the Doha Development Round as his primary objective and has emphasized his goal to reach agreement on 90% of the topics discussed by the end of 2011. It is expected that De Gucht will adopt a hands-on approach in implementing his objectives, in particular in the context of the EU’s bilateral and multilateral negotiations at the WTO.