Baltic, Cooperation, EU – Baltic States, USA

The prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK described the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as "an opportunity to shape the rules of trade in the 21st century."

In their letter, the ministers also supported the continuation of negotiations on the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the view to the development of a cutting-edge, ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement that would not only ensure better market conditions for the exports of EU goods and services, but also serve to strengthen the transatlantic links.

"We should fully seize it together with our American partners," they said in a letter to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.

"The Commission has been working hard to take these negotiations forward, inform stakeholders and consult with Member States. The TTIP negotiations have made progress, given the large scope and high level of ambition of the agreement. However, outstanding issues remain and we should focus our attention on finding solutions," they said.

The ministers reiterated their "commitment and support given to the Commission in the negotiations."

"We look forward to the continuation of the TTIP negotiations with the U.S. and to working closely with the Commission in the coming months," they said.

The statement by the 12 EU ministers can be regarded as a response to calls from the French government and other critics for an end to the negotiations which have been going on for three years.

The TTIP is going to be a new generation trade treaty that will cover provisions related to sustainable development in the areas such as environment and labor standards, rules for supporting small and medium-sized companies, reformed rules for investor-state dispute settlement, as well as broad regulatory cooperation, including at an early stage of legislation. 14 rounds of talks have taken place since the TTIP negotiations began in June 2013.