Greens Say One Million Citizens Deserve Answer Over TTIP

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato has welcomed news that one million people have now signed a petition against the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal. The petition, a European Citizens’ Initiative, has been organised by Stop TTIP, an alliance of 250 civil-society organisations from across Europe [1]. The European Citizens’ Initiative enables people to influence EU law by inviting the Commission to begin legislation on a topic of great public concern [2]. Molly Scott Cato said:

“One of the last acts of the previous Commission was to refuse to register the European Citizens’ Initiative on TTIP. Having attempted to hide the negotiations on this damaging treaty behind a cloak of secrecy the Commission is now refusing to listen to citizens concerns. We hope that the new Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will listen to the people and accept the million-strong Citizens’ Initiative as an expression of their sincere concern.”

Greens across the UK and the EU have been at the forefront of fighting the controversial trade deal, which is being negotiated almost entirely behind closed doors. Supporters believe the deal will promote economic growth and create jobs – claims widely refuted by experts. Dr Scott Cato continued:

“Greens are particularly concerned about the potential effects to democracy, public services, healthcare, labour protection, food standards and the environment. With similar deals having allowed global corporations to sue governments in secret courts for protecting their citizens – sometimes for billions of pounds – it is crucial that we continue the campaign against this dangerous juggernaut.”

The Green-EFA Group in the Parliament also launched a video today demonstrating how citizen mobilisation against TTIP is putting EU trade negotiators under pressure [3].

ENDS 

For more information on TTIP, visit http://ttip2014.eu/qa.html or http://stopttip.net/how-ttip-will-affect-you/.

Notes:

1. https://stop-ttip.org/

2. http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/basic-facts

3. Green Group video: /bit.ly/12tQviz 

Molly Scott Cato is the first elected Green MEP for the South West of England and Gibraltar and is one of 50 Green/EFA MEPs in the European Parliament. She sits on the Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee.