Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has confirmed......>

EU: Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has confirmed his candidacy to become the next

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. Incumbent Roberto Azevedo from

Brazil is due to step down in September, earlier than had been expected.

- Irishman Hogan has served as European Trade Commissioner since November 2019,

and prior to that was Agriculture Commissioner from 2014-19. 

- In the Council meeting of EU trade ministers today a majority came out in

favour of a single EU candidate for the WTO DG position according to Hogan. 

- Hogan said "I think there's an important amount of work to be done to reform

the organisation, to make it more effective and efficient, but also to deal with

many of the important trade issues that are bedevilling the international

community now arising from Covid 19," and that within the EU there should be a

"new focus for our WTO reform policy. The EU's long term policy objective

remains a root and branch reform of the WTO".

- Hogan's candidacy may face a potential obstacle in the UK, with relations

between the EU's Trade Commissioner and Westminster relatively frosty during the

course of EU-UK FTA talks in 2020.