The formal approval on Thursday means, in practice, that almost all EU goods will be subject to 15 percent import duties in the US.
The deal was reached after a meeting between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump in Scotland last summer, but has been significantly delayed by European dissatisfaction with Trump's demands for Greenland and other trade threats.
"The EU can respond quickly and proportionately if the agreement is not respected or its interests are at stake," writes Michael Damianos, Minister of Energy and Trade of the presidency country Cyprus, in a press release .
