by George Kolempas
The pan-European movement against
transatlantic agreements met at a conference this weekend in Kassel,
Germany. The 500 representatives of the various initiatives of
citizens and social organizations discussed the continuation of the
resistance, the strategy and prospect of the movement.
As a first step, they decided to
organize a big demonstration on April 23 in Hanover, on the eve of
Obama's visit, where he and Merkel will open the doors of the global
exhibition of industry-the largest of its kind that is being
conducted for many years in this city .
Then, they will increase pressure
on the negotiators of agreements with various events and
decentralized local protests, before the international day against
the agreements, which this year will be the 5th of November.
It was also decided to be
organized a major conference of the movement at the beginning of the
next year, on the formulation of alternatives to the current
neoliberal policies for trade and economy. The movement of citizens
Stop TTIP-CETA, aims not only to react and criticize the plans of its
opponents, but also to present a complete and positive proposal to
the societies on both sides of the Atlantic, on the possibilities of
an alternative economy and a fair trade.
The important fact for the
movement was the failure of the 12th meeting of the negotiators in
Brussels to find common ground, although Martin Schulz, the President
of the European Parliament, had secured the majority through various
tricks in order to proceed in a resolution for further negotiations.
The pressure that has been exercised last October through large
demonstrations in European capitals - 250,000 protesters participated
in Berlin - and more than 3.2 million citizens' signatures, had a
significant effect on this.
This gives time to the movement to
confront its biggest problem. That is, to convince the northern
European unions of workers to stand against the agreements.
Currently, only the German unions have taken a position against them.
The movement has also failed so far to exert enough pressure on the
Social Democrats MEPs, so that the majority of them in European level
to vote against. Only the majority of Austrian and the British Social
Democrat MEPs have stand against, so far.
The intermediate political
objective of the movement for 2016 is to stop the completion of CETA,
because the EU is interested to close by the end of the year the
agreement with Canada before TTIP with US. But this is a difficult
goal, because the movement cannot focus its struggle on a specific
field, as due to the secrecy of the negotiations does not know the
exact plans of the negotiators.
Normally, TTIP negotiations should
had ended, but it was not possible because of the resistance
movement. The EU and the US will try, therefore, to complete the TTIP
before the end of the US President Obama term. As said the head of
the European negotiators Garcia Bercero (after the failure of the
12th meeting), the intention of the EU is to try to close the
negotiations in 2016, provided that a common ground will be found.
The negotiators are under pressure, not only by the movement, but
also by time, because the negotiations could be dangerously extended,
in case that will not be completed before the new US presidency.
Therefore, it seems that the discussions will be continued in the
interim period until the next meeting, so that the negotiators save
some time.
By the action of the movement, the
EU was forced to change position in relation to the arbitration
courts provided for by the Agreement (ISDS),
and in which courts, the corporations and investors will resort
against states and governments, in case that these will apply laws
and measures directed against their profitability. The EU no longer
accepts to be private, ie decisions to be taken through negotiations
between the parties lawyers' groups in restricted procedures, as
proposed in the beginning. After resolution of the European
Parliament last July, the EU requires trials to be public, with
regular judges, transparent and with revision process.
Whether the negotiators will find
a common ground, will depend on the compromise that will succeed the
different interests of the US and the EU. The US is more interested
in access to the European market for agri-food products, where the
marketing of almost 40% of American products is not allowed (for
non-labeled modified-GM-organisms, chlorination of poultry and pork,
growth hormones in cattle, cloned animals, etc., which are not
authorized in Europe, due to the precautionary principle). Europeans
- mostly Germans - are interested for access to US public
procurements, where the services in many sectors are obliged to order
goods and services only from domestic companies. While German
Government, is seeking to conclude the negotiations in 2016, aims at
a "substantial and balanced agreement." "The quality
of the agreement takes priority over speed," said the
representative of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Since the peace movement during
the "cold war", as well as the anti-nuclear and ecological
one, there was no other such broad movement in Europe, especially in
Germany, as the current movement against transatlantic agreements.
The EU is experiencing an instability, not only because of economic
or refugee crisis, but also because of the political crisis stemming
from the persistence of European elites to the neoliberal recipe that
govern transatlantic agreements. Nor the representative democracy is
respected, as national parliaments do not know anything of those
agreed behind closed doors. So, this results to the reaction of
millions of citizens who decide to take the matter into their own
hands. Thinking globally, they start acting locally, and demand a
different policy on the international trade and the international
economy, without seeking a return to the national level, since the
movement is connected interstate.
This movement of citizens aspires
to achieve what the opposition parties, or, the Leftist, ecological
parties, have failed to achieve. That is to propose a different idea
for the human communities and the European and US society. A
democratic economy of solidarity and needs, with fair trade, in the
context of a real democracy of citizens, not a "supposed"
democracy of delegation.
Translated
from the original source:
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