German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood in the Palace of Westminster last Thursday and addressed the two houses of the British Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords.  By and large, it was not a speech about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, T-TIP.  It was a speech about Europe, Germany and the United Kingdom.  But she did squarely address the promise and importance of T-TIP.  Here is the full paragraph with today's quote:

Well before touching on T-TIP, Chancellor Merkel set the stage for it by talking more generally about the trans-Atlantic relationship.  Here is some of that:

For anyone concerned with trade these days - and that is GBD's principal concern - T-TIP is an operational priority.  The quotations above have some bearing on T-TIP, and so we have favored them in this entry, but they were but one motif in the larger tapestry of the chancellor's address to Parliament.

Most of Chancellor Merkel's speech was given in German - the above passages are translations - but she began in English on a note of humility.  "I am aware," she said, "of the very great honour bestowed on me: I am the third representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, following Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1970 and German Federal President Richard Weizäcker in 1986, to speak to you."

In paying tribute to the UK, Chancellor Merkel quoted a passage from the 1986 speech by President Weizäcker, when he said:

That statement stands alone, but it was also a superb opening for the Chancellor's discussion of the UK and the EU and her argument for Britain to continue as an EU member.  As Katja Hall of the CBI - Confederation of British Industry - summed it up, "Chancellor Merkel made a persuasive case that it is in our shared interests for the UK to stay in the EU."  Indeed, it was a persuasive case, albeit one that came with a warning. 

In an early passage - and one widely quoted in the British press - Chancellor Merkel said, "I have heard some expect my speech to pave the way for a fundamental reform of the European architecture which will satisfy all kinds of alleged or actual British wishes.  I am afraid they are in for a disappointment."

She promised to be equally disappointing to those who might have hoped for a completely inflexible defense of the status qou. Instead, hers was a message of change.  And there was a part of that message, which may have some bearing on T-TIP. Ostensibly it was about developments within Europe, specifically regulations.  "European regulations," she said, "and national regulations too - must be reviewed regularly.  If they are superfluous, they must be abolished."

Assuming there is a successful conclusion to the T-TIP talks, including provisions on regulatory coherence, and assuming Germany and the UK are successful in achieving regular reviews of EU regulations, how, we wonder, will those two processes mesh?

The T-TIP JOURNEY - An Assessment.  John Cridland, the Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, will lead off at next week's GBD colloquium on this topic.  Cosponsored by McDermott Will & Emery, this event will be held at the McDermott Will & Emery building at 500 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC. 

Peter Allgeier of the Coalition of Service Industries, Linda Dempsey from the National Association of Manufacturers and Katja Hall of the CBI will also speak at this T-TIP session.  Click the link above for registration and other details.