Over 1.94 million people from across Europe have signed the European Citizens’ Initiative against TTIP and CETA, including more than a quarter of a million from the UK. Numerous organisations, Charities and Trade Unions, including the CWU; also oppose the TTIP in its present form. Despite the opposition in the UK, on the 28th May 2015, politicians in Europe failed to scrap one of the worst parts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) - the part that would let corporations sue our government in secret courts based in Washington, USA., known as the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), by voting with the Tory and Liberals for a resolution that fails to excludes the ISDS from the final TTIP agreement. The UK Labour MEPs (as part of the S&D group in Europe) who betrayed UK citizens opposition to the TTIP and ISDS, did a deal with the liberal and conservative members on the committee and voted to accept the compromise document. This meant that the resolution on TTIP still has a form of ISDS in the deal. The right for corporations to sue the government has not been voted out yet! David Martin, Labour MEP for Scotland David Campbell Bannerman, Conservative MEP for East of England - who didn't even bother turning up! Trade Deals Explained
ISDS was removed from TTIP negotiations in January 2014. The European Commission later were forced to conducted a public consultation which received a record 150,000 responses, over 97% of which were against ISDS. Those opposing the ISDS element within the TTIP may well believe this to be a naive position at best and fool hardy at worst simply because the so-called ‘compromise text’; does not in any way shape or form stop the ISDS element from being brought back into the deal, or 'assumed' as having been accepted. In reality it acually means that the ISDS is firmly still within the TTIP! In a press release issued by UK's 38 Degrees, they confirm that the ISDS is safe and well within the TTIP as a result of this action: "The resolution also contained an edited version of what’s called the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism: the dangerous part of the deal that could see corporations suing the government." Here it is: "....to ensure the applicability of international agreements, to bring an end to the unequal treatment of European investors in the US on account of existing agreements of Member States; to ensure that foreign investors are treated in a non-discriminatory fashion and have a fair opportunity to seek and achieve redress of grievances while benefiting from no greater rights than domestic investors:” Indeed, the fact that any opposition to ISDS was removed from the final agreed document written by the EU's International Trade Committee, signals a green light to all those supporting the idea of big business being able to sue Governments for loss of profits, both now and also future profits! However, Jude Kirton-Darling's claim remains that: “In fact, it's very much a step in the right direction as it does not mention ISDS, while it says that we should trust national courts in TTIP. To me this means no ISDS in TTIP.” You can read her full explanation here At the time MEPs supported launching the talks and drew several red lines, such as excluding audiovisual services. However, the MEPs who were elected last year would like to review the progress so far. Negotiations are ongoing, so there is no final text yet. However, some MEPs have been pushing for transparency from the start. As a result the Commission was forced to publish the EU's negotiating positions and MEPs have access to sensitive information in a secure reading room. The Commission negotiates on behalf of the EU, guided by the member states, while the final deal must be approved by the EP and the Council. Without this approval, the agreement cannot enter into force. This is why MEPs are following the talks very closely. The EU is currently involved in negotiations over another far-reaching trade agreement with Canada called CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) as well as the better known TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) with the USA. The official line is that these free trade agreements will create jobs and increase economic growth. However, the beneficiaries of these agreements will be big corporations, not citizens: * Investor-State-Dispute Settlement (ISDS): Canadian and US companies would have the right to sue for damages if they believe that they have suffered losses because of government decisions (for instance new laws to protect the environment or consumer rights). You can send a pre-filled and amendable email direct to your local MEP expressing your opposition to the TTIP and ISDS here You can see the final roll call for the votes in the Trade Committee – both on the TTIP resolution as a whole, and the watered-down version of ISDS – on the European Parliament website here You can see the texts of the resolution here For the view of the events from The Greens MEP's perspective, read this UKIP's MEP who voted against the amendment, slams Labour for not protecting the NHS here For a detailed analyses as to why the TTIP is seen as “An assault on European and US societies by transnational corporations.”, read this article from the Independent October 2014 See also Dave Joyce, CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer letter to MEPs regarding their 10th June vote here Source: War on Want / EU Parliament News / North East Labour website / 38 Degrees / Unionsafety /Flickr / The Greens |