Trade, growth and development

•    The EESC acknowledges the quality of civil society's contribution prior to publication of the communication, as well as the efforts made by the Commission to implement the trade-related aspects of the Agenda for Change. It also welcomes the attention given to the evaluation of trade policies in this communication.
•    The EESC regrets that this new communication heralds no significant change to EU policy on the link between trade and development policies.
•    The EESC reiterates its recommendation to incorporate sustainable development provisions into free-trade agreements and to provide for procedures enabling ex post analysis of these agreements by the EESC.
•    The EESC recalls the importance of producing sui generis development strategies that combine domestic and trade policies with a view to sustainable and inclusive growth.
•    The EESC encourages the EU to promote duty- and quota-free access for products from the LDCs more strongly in multilateral fora.
•    The EESC calls for an in-depth debate within the EU on the objectives and instruments of trade and development policies.
•    This debate should include a discussion on the gridlock in the Economic Partnership Agreements, so as to propose tools for moving forward.