With elections approaching for the European Parliament now is the ideal time to ask them for their views on TTIP-ing. What’s that?
It’s short hand for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the so-called trade deal between the USA and EU. Talk on this will be about half-way completed by end of March 2014. Much of the discussions have taken place behind closed doors. The European Commission have been forced to have a 3 month consultation on one element of these talks – private business tribunals – which will allow corporations to sue governments over claims that legislation had reduced their profits. So this discussion isn’t about trade, its about turning business deregulation into permanent policy on both sides of the Atlantic with no democratic opportunity for future change.
It’s claimed that negotiators want TTIP to act as the de facto standard model for the whole world. No country, therefore, would have an independent economic policy. It’s the newly elected MEPs who will have to ratify the final proposals.
The new treaty will affect laws on car and food safety, animal welfare, healthcare, banking, just about anything not excluded – and there’s very little that has been.
One of the demands is to remove the EU’s hard fought for ‘precautionary principle‘ which applies to many areas of environmental and safety legislation. This would open the door to many toxic chemicals permitted in the USA.
So, when a European candidate knock on your door, or you have a chance to question them at an event, mind and raise this issue with them.
Ask your Euro candidate how they feel about TTIP-ing
With elections approaching for the European Parliament now is the ideal time to ask them for their views on TTIP-ing. What’s that?
It’s short hand for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the so-called trade deal between the USA and EU. Talk on this will be about half-way completed by end of March 2014. Much of the discussions have taken place behind closed doors. The European Commission have been forced to have a 3 month consultation on one element of these talks – private business tribunals – which will allow corporations to sue governments over claims that legislation had reduced their profits. So this discussion isn’t about trade, its about turning business deregulation into permanent policy on both sides of the Atlantic with no democratic opportunity for future change.
It’s claimed that negotiators want TTIP to act as the de facto standard model for the whole world. No country, therefore, would have an independent economic policy. It’s the newly elected MEPs who will have to ratify the final proposals.
The new treaty will affect laws on car and food safety, animal welfare, healthcare, banking, just about anything not excluded – and there’s very little that has been.
One of the demands is to remove the EU’s hard fought for ‘precautionary principle‘ which applies to many areas of environmental and safety legislation. This would open the door to many toxic chemicals permitted in the USA.
So, when a European candidate knock on your door, or you have a chance to question them at an event, mind and raise this issue with them.
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