After this European campaign, you may also now have heard about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is a proposed trade deal between North America and Europe that would mean disputes would be settled not by Courts, but by independent arbitrators, and that governments could be sued by private companies if they made laws that affected future profits. Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, was very keen on it last year. The Liberal Democrats campaign manager actually said that they should attack the Greens on this issue.
So who was it that exposed the “private” negotiations and the proposal for these independent arbitrators, who could potentially rule that our NHS would restrict private company profits? That’s right, as part of the fourth largest group in the European Parliament, it was the German Greens who exposed the negotiations and caused both the French and German governments to make public announcements that they could not possibly sign up to this.
The Greens are interested in fair trade, that will benefit people, not free trade that is all about the profit motive. We don't want to grant arms export credits, to help us sell weapons to other countries. We want trade to be a force for good, and the EU should certainly remove preferential trade deals with all countries who are in violation of human rights.
The full Green manifesto is here.
1 comment:
I have been in hospital, and left a £200 donation to the campaign before I left, just in case I did not return. The bank seems to have decided is a suspicious PayPal transaction. Hopefully this will get you well get it soon.
I look forward to a positive Green light in the North West, to help balance the negative parties. I am from the North West originally.
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