Immediately Publish Treaty on EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement
“Now, the federal government has to prove how serious it is about transparency, democratic participation, and the refusal of arbitration tribunals. I’m very much afraid that the agreement will still be cobbled together over people’s heads and against their interests”, says Klaus Ernst, deputy chair of DIE LINKE parliamentary group in Bundestag, regarding current news stating that the wording of the free trade agreement between EU and Canada (CETA) are eventually negotiated. Ernst further:
“Federal government and Federal minister of Economic Affairs, Gabriel, can no longer feed the public with shallow slogans. The text has to be made accessible to all members of Bundestag and the wide public for critical scrutiny immediately – not least because the contents of CETA are also the blue print for the extremely controversial TTIP agreement with the US and because the agreement is said to be initialled already at the EU-Canada summit on the 26th of September.
I also expect that the federal government positions itself clearly against the agreement if it contains an agreement on investment protection or otherwise endanger democratic norms, e.g. worker, consumer or environment protection. As a basic requirement the agreement must further be treated as a mixed agreement which beside EU bodies also the national parliaments must approve of. This is still uncertain and has to be guaranteed quickly.
DIE LINKE will pursue the further process with the highest attention and stands at the side of the non-parliamentary movement: democratic fundamental rights, preservation of political scope and consumer protection may not be put up for negotiation.”