People, environment and democracy before profit and corporate rights

Joint statement of European Civil Society groups working against the TTIP threat, May 2!"
1. Who are we?
#e are an E$%wi&e coalition of civil society organisations who share a &eep concern a'out the
various threats pose& 'y the Transatlantic Tra&e an& Investment Partnership TTIP (also known as
Transatlantic )ree Tra&e *greement or T*)T*+, #e represent a wi&e range of pu'lic interests
inclu&ing environmental protection, public health, agriculture, consumer rights and
protection of food and farming standards, animal welfare, social and labour standards,
workers rights, migrant rights, unemployment, youth and women's issues, development,
public access to information and digital rights, essential public services including
education, integrity of financial systems, and others,
#e are strongly committe& to challenging the ongoing negotiations for the TTIP, in or&er to ensure
transparent an& &emocratic policy &e'ate, *ny agreements must serve the pu'lic interest an& our
common future,
. What is !!"P?
TTIP is a far%reaching agreement currently 'eing negotiate& 'etween the European Commission
(on 'ehalf of E$ Mem'er States+ an& the $S* government, It is less a'out tra&e as tariffs are
alrea&y generally very low 'etween the E$ an& the $S*, an& mostly a'out regulations, stan&ar&s,
corporate rights an& investment guarantees,
The propose& TTIP suppose&ly aims at facilitating &irect investment, an& eliminating unnecessary
'ureaucratic hur&les to market access for corporations from 'oth si&es of the *tlantic,
-owever, evi&ence from 'usiness an& in&ustry positions reveals that the focus on non%tariff
'arriers an& regulatory convergence is 'eing use& to push &eregulation, increase& investment
guarantees, intellectual property rights lea&ing to monopolies, an& a race to the 'ottom, The
proclaime& 'ut unsu'stantiate& economic 'enefits are marginal to society at large even in the 'est
case scenarios, *ll evi&ence to &ate suggests that these goals threaten important rights ac.uire& in
long &emocratic struggles an& societal interests of the pu'lic in the E$, $S, an& the rest of the
worl&,
/egotiations are happening 'ehin& close& &oors, without comprehensive an& effective pu'lic
consultation, /ational parliaments are not even informe& a'out the &etails of the Commission0s
negotiation te1ts % 'ut the rare snippets of information that have 'een release& %% or leake& %% raise
consi&era'le concerns,
#. What are our concerns?
the lack of transparency and democratic procedures, which makes it impossi'le for
citi2ens an& civil society to monitor the negotiations in or&er to ensure that pu'lic interests
are 'eing protecte&, Currently these negotiations are e1tremely 'iase&3 'usiness lo''y
groups are given privilege& access to information an& opportunities to influence the
negotiations,
the proposed investment protection chapter, particularly the inclusion of an Investor
State 4ispute Settlement provision, "$%$ mechanisms give investors e1clusive rights to
sue states when &emocratic &ecisions 5 ma&e 'y pu'lic institutions in the pu'lic interest 5
are consi&ere& to have negative impacts on their anticipate& profits, These mechanisms
rely on rulings outsi&e the national courts an& there'y un&ermine our national an& E$ legal
systems, our &emocratic structures for formulating laws an& policies in the pu'lic interest,
the creation of new anti&democratic governance structures and procedures that aim to
0harmonise regulations0 like the propose& 'egulatory (ooperation (ouncil. These
structures woul& make the TTIP a moving target, constantly &evelope& in secret 'y
unelecte& 'ureaucrats an& 'ig 'usiness, These un&emocratic structures threaten to lower
important stan&ar&s an& rules &esigne& for the protection of pu'lic interests, or prohi'it
future improvements, regar&less of necessity an& pu'lic man&ate, #e are also concerne&
a'out the aim to strengthen protection an& enforcement of 6intellectual property rights6
which coul& impe&e our rights to health, culture, e&ucation an& free e1pression,
). *ur shared demands and goals+
7ase& on the values of international soli&arity, social 8ustice an& environmental sustaina'ility, an&
the respect of all human rights, we work together with our allies in the $S an& other parts of the
worl& an& we demand3
a+ !ransparency now3 the E$ Commission9s negotiation te1ts as well as all negotiation
&ocuments must 'e ma&e pu'lic to allow for an open an& critical pu'lic &e'ate on the TTIP,
'+ , democratic process, inclu&ing scrutiny an& assessment of the negotiation te1ts, which
ensures that policies are in the pu'lic interest an& which involves the E$ Parliament, &e'ate in
national parliaments, civil society organisations, tra&e unions an& stakehol&er groups,
c+ -o "$%$3 any provision containing Investor State 4ispute Settlement mechanisms must 'e
taken permanently out of the negotiations an& no other mechanism intro&uce& (inclu&ing in&irectly
via other pre%e1isting or su'se.uent tra&e agreements+ which grants privilege& rights to investors,
&+ -o regulatory cooperation council3 all regulation of 'usiness operations, tra&e con&itions an&
setting of pro&uct% an& pro&uction%stan&ar&s must 'e in the han&s of &emocratically controlle&
'o&ies an& processes,
e+ -o deregulation of standards safeguar&ing an& serving the pu'lic interest3 the level of social
an& la'our stan&ar&s, consumer an& pu'lic health protection, care for the environment inclu&ing
regeneration of our natural resources, animal welfare, foo& safety stan&ar&s an& environmentally
sustaina'le agricultural practices, access to information an& la'elling, culture an& me&icine,
financial market regulation as well as &ata protection an& other &igital rights need to be enhanced,
not 6harmonise&: &own to the lowest common &enominator, Mutual recognition is not accepta'le in
as far as it un&ermines &emocratically agree& stan&ar&s an& safeguar&s, The precautionary
principle must 'e wi&ely applie&,
f+ -o further deregulation and privatisation of public services, #e &eman& guarantee& access
to high .uality e&ucation, health care an& other pu'lic services an& government procurement
which promotes local 8o's an& local economies, local content, positive &iscrimination, social
entrepreneurship, sustaina'le economics an& serves the pu'lic interest,
g+ !he promotion of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices an& protection of
small family farming,
h+ Public authorities must keep the political power an& structures necessary to protect certain
sensitive sectors an& safeguar& stan&ar&s important to our .uality of life, Internationally agree&
la'our an& environmental stan&ar&s must 'e respecte& an& enforce&, The continuous violation of
la'our stan&ar&s shoul& 'e a&&resse& 'y imposing monetary fines,
*ny E$%$S tra&e agreements, now an& in the future, shoul& meet these &eman&s, follow these
principles an& promote cooperation, social 8ustice an& ecological sustaina'ility,
Signe&3

Institute for
sustaina'le
&evelopment,
Slovenia
!!,!!,!!, 7elgium
*ction )or 7reast Cancer )oun&ation, Malta
*frica Contact, 4enmark
*frica Europe )aith an& Justice /etwork (*E)J/+
*itec%IP*M, )rance
aktion ; ar'eitsunrecht, <ermany
*ktion Sel'st'esteuerung e,=,, <ermany
*P>?4E= % *ssociation of #orl& Council of Churches relate& 4evelopment ?rganisations in
Europe
a.uattac, Europe%wi&e
*r'eitsgemeinschaft '@uerliche Aan&wirtschaft % *'A, <ermany
*>C 22 (Convention agricole et rurale 22+, 7elgium
Br2tInnen fCr eine gesun&e $mwelt (*e<$, IS4E+, *ustria
*SEE4 Europe, /etherlan&s
*ssociation &0*mitiD )ranco =ietnamienne, ComitD &e Choisy le >oi % =al &e Marne, )rance
*ttac *ustria
*TT*C%4enmark
*ttac )inlan&
*ttac )rance
*ttac <ermany
*ttac Icelan&
*ttac Irelan&
*TT*C SP*I/
*ttac Swe&en
*TT*C =A**/4E>E/, /etherlan&s
*TT*C #allonie%7ru1elles, 7elgium
*ustrian )e&eral Cham'er of Aa'our
*ustrian Tra&e $nion )e&eration
7I )racking freies -essen, <ermany
7I le'enswertes Eor'ach e,=,, <ermany
7oth E/4S, the /etherlan&s
Campact e,=,, <ermany
CEE 7ankwatch /etwork
Center for Encounter an& *ctive /on%=iolence, *ustria
Aa C<T, )rance
Coli'ri, <ermany
Collectif citoyen les Engraineurs, )rance
Collectif contre le gran& marchD transatlanti.ue % Stop T*)T*, )rance
Collectif &es *ssociations Citoyennes, )rance
Collectif >oosevelt, )rance
Compassion in #orl& )arming, Europe%wi&e
Corporate Europe ?'servatory (CE?+, 7elgium
4achver'an& Entwicklungspolitik 7a&en%#Crttem'erg (4E*7+, <ermany
Eco >uralis, >omania
Ecologistas en *cciFn, Spain
E&ucaciFn para la *cciFn CrGtica%E&P*C, Spain
Ein #elt )orum )rei'urg, <ermany
European *ttac /etwork (E*/+
European Coor&ination =ia Campesina (EC=C+
European Environmental 7ureau
European )e&eration of Journalists
The European Pu'lic -ealth *lliance, Europe%wi&e
European #ater Movement
)arms not )actories, $E
)airwatch, Italy
)on&ation Sciences Citoyennes, )rance
)oo& H #ater Europe
)racking )ree Irelan&
)ree&om )ight Info, Ser'ia
)rien&s of the Earth Europe
)rien&s of the Earth Spain
<*I* % <rupo &e *cIJo e IntervenIJo *m'iental, Portugal
<DnDrations )utures, )rance
<erman Aeague for /ature an& Environment (4eutscher /aturschut2ring % 4/>+
<erman /<? )orum on Environment an& 4evelopment, <ermany
<A?7*A 2 % )rien&s of the Earth *ustria
<lo'al Marshall Plan Initiative, Europe%wi&e
<M? Information Center (6Inf?M<6+, >omania
<olias -e'&o et <olias Maga2ine, )rance
<reenpeace
The -ealth an& Environment *lliance (-E*A+, 7elgium
-eaven or s-ell, Swe&en
I7)*/ Europe
I7)*/ <eorgian <roup
I'fan Italia
Initiativ Aiewensufank, Au1em'ourg
I/E?T*%net2werk, <ermany
Institute for sustaina'le &evelopment, Slovenia
Irish 4octors Environmental *ssociation, Irelan&
Eeep Irelan& )racking )ree, Irelan&
Eein Patent auf Ae'enK (6/o Patents on AifeK6+, <ermany
AE) % )<E, 7elgium
Aimerick Earth 4ay /etwork, Irelan&
Aocal $r'an 4evelopment European /etwork (A$4E/+, 7elgium
Mehr 4emokratie, <ermany
ME/SC-E/>EC-TE L e,=, (-uman >ights L+, <ermany
MIM Moral in Motion, the /etherlan&s
/aturefrien&s International
/atur)reun&e 4eutschlan&s, <ermany
/icos Poulant2as Institute, <reece
/?*- % )rien&s of the Earth 4enmark
M7=%=ia Campesina *ustria
Platform aar&e 7oer consument, The /etherlan&s
Pokret 2a slo'o&u, Ser'ia
Portmarnock Community *ssociation, 7each committee, Irelan&
PowerShift, <ermany
P>?=IE- % =erein gegen tier.u@lerische Massentierhaltung e,=,, <ermany
Nuercus 5 /ational *ssociation for /ature Conservation, Portugal
Aa Nua&rature &u /et, )rance
>omania )ara Ei, >omania
Schaliegasvri8 /e&erlan&, The /etherlan&s
Service Civil International
Slow )oo& <ermany
Slow )oo& International
S?AI4*>ITO, )rance
S?M?, the /etherlan&s
StopTTIP $E
SP4#I/4, *ustria
Transnational Institute
Transport H Environment, 7elgium
$mweltinstitut MCnchen e,=,, <ermany
$niFn Sin&ical ?'rera ($S?+, Spain
$/IS?/, $E
=D&egylet EgyesClet, -ungary
#ar on #ant, $E
#EE4 5 #orl& Economy, Ecology H 4evelopment, <ermany
#emos, the /etherlan&s
#omen in Europe for a Common )uture, )rance, Germany, The Netherlands
#omen9s International Aeague for Peace an& )ree&om -ollan&
#orl& 4evelopment Movement, $E
#orkinggroup )oo& Justice, The /etherlan&s
Q minus R Soli&arity )un&, The /etherlan&s