Milanovic assumes TTIP effect on Croatia will be neutral

Croatia supports the conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement which the European Union and the US are negotiating about, and the first estimates of that comprehensive agreement show that its effects on Croatia would be neutral.

The state of play in the negotiations on the TTIP was the main topic of the second day of the Brussels summit meeting that ended on Friday afternoon.

Leaders of the EU and its 28 member-states "repeated their commitment to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year and to step up the efforts to communicate the benefits of the agreement", according to a press release on the EU web site.

After the summit meeting, PM Milanovic said that the TTIP topic "attracts little interest in Croatia".

This is about figures. There are EU member-states that are wealthier than others and that are more competitive and such an agreement with the US suits them, and there are countries that should calculate the effects of the agreement, the PM said.

According to our estimates, "(the effects) on Croatia are neutral. We are a small country, dependant on international trade of goods and services," he explained.

If the TTIP is good for the EU, it is also good for Croatia, so it is more than just neutral, he concluded.

(Hina) ms

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