European Citizens’ Alliance against TTIP writes an open letter to MEPs regarding the imminent vote on the TTIP resolution in the European Parliament
A few days before the European Parliament returns to vote on the initiative report on theTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), 483 civil society organizations from across Europe, comprising the Stop-TTIP Alliance, are asking Members of European Parliament (MEPs) to vote against the TTIP in an open letter. On Monday 6 July all MEPs received the following letter (available in a variety of languages), which has been signed by the Stop-TTIP Alliance in each Member State.
The European Parliament was expected to vote on the TTIP on June 10 but the debate and the vote were postponed after more than 200 amendments to the agreement were put forward. The European Parliament will thus vote next Wednesday, 8 July on the TTIP resolution.
The Stop-TTIP Alliance expresses civil society’s views: today 2.3 million people are demanding the negotiations on TTIP be stopped. According to Slow Food, a comprehensive refusal of the TTIP is the only solution.
Slow Food calls on the European Parliament to reject the TTIP and not compromise on any amendments. As Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food, affirmed:
“If the TTIP is passed, our everyday food system, which already lends itself to drastic and surreptitious change, will continue to become even more disconnected from the sphere of the people. The free trade agreements, from NAFTA on, have not actually lead to an increase in a quality of life for small producers and those at an economic disadvantage, but have only multiplied the earnings of the richest speculators.”
Ursula Hudson, President of Slow Food Germany, stated:
“The TTIP as it stands at the moment is not at all acceptable. Instead of the TTIP we need different things: we want democracy, transparency and legal protection for human beings instead of more rights for corporations to sue. We want the preservation and future development of European environmental politics, the standards that we have achieved so far, instead of their subordination under the logic of free trade.”
Richard McCarthy, Executive Director of Slow Food USA, declared:
“We are deeply concerned about this rush towards deregulation, lowering control and transparency in our food system, which will actually bring a great deal of incoherence, because at this very time communities in the United States and throughout Europe are trying to regain more control over knowledge about food labeling, sources of our foods and the manner in which our foods are raised. The TTIP will undermine these efforts.”
The resolution of the TTIP also provides the inclusion of an Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The European Parliament should take a clear stance against ISDS. This, indeed, would allow corporations to sue governments in private courts for different state actions that interfere with investments and lowers their expected profits, a practice that would undermine the rule of law and democratic principles.
Please find here the letter addressed to MEPs.
For further information, please contact the Slow Food International Press Office:
Paola Nano, +39 329 8321285 [email protected]
Slow Food involves over a million of people dedicated to and passionate about good, clean and fair food. This includes chefs, youth, activists, farmers, fishers, experts and academics in over 158 countries; a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide (known as convivia), contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize; and over 2,500 Terra Madre food communities who practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.