Translation of "Groupe de travail sur les maisons de commerce extérieur " (French → English) :

Summary code: External trade / Development and sustainability Employment and social policy / Community employment policies / Partnership for growth and employment Employment and social policy / Employment rights and work organisation / Corporate social responsability Enterprise / Business environment / Improving the business environment / Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Environment and climate change / Sustainable development / Sustainable development instruments

Welcomes, in particular, the HLWG’s recommendation that the EU and the US address the environment and labour aspects of trade and sustainable development; considers that the experience of previous EU trade agreements and the long-lasting EU-US commitments should be taken into account in order to strengthen the development and enforcement of labour and environmental laws and policies and promote the core standards and benchmarks laid down by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as decent jobs and sustainable development; encourages the harmonisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards; recognises that ach ...[+++]ieving common standards is likely to present both technical and political challenges, and emphasises that the common goal should be to ensure that there is no diminution of environmental ambitions;

Apart from setting up comprehensive research, development and innovation policies, this will take also implementing those reforms that will tone up economic activity in general, particularly in the areas of business environment, competition, external trade, education and labour markets.

- monitor progress in gender equality in the human resources policy in the Commission and present, in 2007, a Communication on the achievement of targets set for its Committees and Expert Groups[21]; facilitate training on gender equality for its staff, including management and staff working in external and development cooperation fields

Provided enterprise groups are identified in the business register, the link with trade statistics would give estimates of the part of external trade carried out by transnational groups.

The users of external trade statistics require rapid access to pertinent data.