CETA Trade Deal Undermines European Democracy: Could Help Investors Attack EU « Public Interest Safeguards » Including Healthcare, Labour Rights, Environment

Région :

A new report on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) reveals how the trade deal could make EU member states vulnerable to costly lawsuits from North American investors that threaten public interest.

Days before EU trade ministers meet in Bratislava to decide on the CETA ratification process, Corporate Europe Observatory, Friends of the Earth Europe, the European Public Services Union (EPSU) and twenty other European civil society organisations publish ‘CETA – Trading Away Democracy’. The report shows that the investment chapter of CETA remains a substantial threat to European democratic decision-making.

Once ratified, CETA will codify the right for Canadian and US investors with subsidiaries in Canada to sue EU member states as well as the European Union for legislation which could negatively affect their profits. CETA does not include any obligations for those investors.

Existing trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement show that the majority of such cases are filed over laws protecting public health, the environment and labour rights, pitting corporate profits against the public interest.

As highlighted in the report, the investment chapter of CETA will lead to a boom in investor claims. These claims are to be decided in arbitration courts located outside the framework of national and European Union jurisdictions. This parallel justice system makes court proceedings expensive, untransparent and biased, which burdens public budgets and challenges democratic decision-making.

Despite wide-spread public mobilisation against key aspects of the agreement – notably its investment chapter – CETA is supposed to be signed before the end of this year.

Corporate Europe Observatory’s trade policy researcher and campaigner Lora Verheecke noted: “Our new report screens the European Commission promises meant to reassure citizens that CETA’s investment chapter is harmless. But despite the changes in the investment clauses, CETA still fails to protect the EU and member states from investors attacking public interest legislation.”

Paul de Clerck, economic justice programme coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe said: “The Investment Court System is the worst part of recent trade deals as it undermines our democracy. If CETA is accepted, it opens the door for all Canadian companies and major US companies through their subsidiaries in Canada, to sue European governments. We can expect a flood of new cases of investors attacking laws protecting public health, the environment and labour rights.”

Penny Clarke, deputy general secretary at the European Public Services Union, added: “It is not acceptable that public services like healthcare are liable to special investor courts when they exist first and foremost to serve the public. Ordinary people see that it is wrong to hand over to investors huge amounts of public money in these cases, why don’t more governments see it?”

• Read the full report here.

• More demonstrations demanding to stop CETA are organised throughout Europe as part of the Autumn of Action.

Contact details:

Corporate Europe Observatory | Lora Verheecke | [email protected] |

Friends of the Earth Europe | Laure Kervyn | [email protected] |

European Public Services Union | Penny Clarke | [email protected] |

 



Avis de non-responsabilité : Les opinions exprimées dans cet article n'engagent que le ou les auteurs. Le Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation se dégage de toute responsabilité concernant le contenu de cet article et ne sera pas tenu responsable pour des erreurs ou informations incorrectes ou inexactes.

Le Centre de recherche sur la mondialisation (CRM) accorde la permission de reproduire la version intégrale ou des extraits d'articles du site Mondialisation.ca sur des sites de médias alternatifs. La source de l'article, l'adresse url ainsi qu'un hyperlien vers l'article original du CRM doivent être indiqués. Une note de droit d'auteur (copyright) doit également être indiquée.

Pour publier des articles de Mondialisation.ca en format papier ou autre, y compris les sites Internet commerciaux, contactez: [email protected]

Mondialisation.ca contient du matériel protégé par le droit d'auteur, dont le détenteur n'a pas toujours autorisé l’utilisation. Nous mettons ce matériel à la disposition de nos lecteurs en vertu du principe "d'utilisation équitable", dans le but d'améliorer la compréhension des enjeux politiques, économiques et sociaux. Tout le matériel mis en ligne sur ce site est à but non lucratif. Il est mis à la disposition de tous ceux qui s'y intéressent dans le but de faire de la recherche ainsi qu'à des fins éducatives. Si vous désirez utiliser du matériel protégé par le droit d'auteur pour des raisons autres que "l'utilisation équitable", vous devez demander la permission au détenteur du droit d'auteur.

Contact média: [email protected]