Public consultation on ISDS in TTIP started – participate and show rejection of ISDS As previously announced the Commission has launched its consultation on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the trade agreement with the United States (TTIP). We are disappointed that there is no question about whether ISDS should be…

TTIP website of the Greens/EFA group online The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has set up a new web site on TTIP. There you can find campaign videos, up-to-date information and much useful background material. http://ttip2014.eu/   Two LSE studies about ISDS There are two new studies of the…

Director-General of the WTO Azevedo in the committee meeting In the trade committee (INTA) meeting the Director General of the World Trade Organisation Azevedo reported on the results of the Ministerial Conference in Bali. In his speech he presented the Bali package as a great success. Azevedo stated that the…

TTIP The second negotiating round, which was postponed due to the US-American shutdown, is taking place this week (11 – 15 November). Market access (especially investment and services), tariffs as well as energy and raw materials are on the agenda. The third negotiating round will take place in December as…

Hearing on EU-US free trade agreement in the European Parliament The second negotiation round, which was planned for 7-11 October in Brussels, has been cancelled due to the US budget dispute. On 14 October a hearing on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) took place in the committee on…

A new partnership between the EU and the US – “TTIP” In May, the European Parliament had voted in favour of a quite uncritical mandate allowing the EU Commission to negotiate a trade agreement with the USA. The only positive aspect was the request to exclude cultural and audio-visual services.…

Voting on Free Trade Agreement with the USA The Parliament has agreed to the motion for a resolution concerning the free trade agreement between the EU und USA with a majority of the conservatives, socio-democrats and liberals thereby giving the Commission the green light for negotiations. We Greens could neither…

Free Trade Agreement with India Last monday, April 15th, the Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma met with Commissioner Karel de Gucht. We had expected this meeting to be crucial for the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India: Either that meeting would bring a political agreement…

Today, there  exist numerous bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Their goal is to stimulate  foreign direct investments (FDIs) by granting investors special rights and  better protection against arbitrary and ‘unjust’ acts from the state authority.  However, the way most BITs are designed goes far in the wrong direction. The  majority of…

Report “Trade and Development” The Report “Trade and Development” by the conservative rapporteur Saifi has been approved by the INTA-Committee. We managed to put through some important points: – For the first time the parliament claims binding provisions concerning company’s social responsibility. – Furthermore, human rights provisions in trade agreements…