Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 12 June, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted a “balanced” opinion by a crushing majority, supporting the negotiations for a free-trade agreement between the EU and USA - the transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP). The EESC nevertheless argues for the benefits of the future agreement to be spread evenly between businesses, workers, consumers and the public.
In its opinion, the EESC hails the TTIP project, believing that a balanced agreement could support growth and job creation in the EU. However, it makes its support conditional upon a high level of social protection being maintained, as well as the protection of the environment and consumers enjoyed by the citizens of the EU. The EESC believes that a “robust” sustainable development chapter, reiterating the obligations arising from ILO membership and multilateral agreements on the environment, combined with a strong civil society monitoring mechanism, could be one of the best guarantees that the negotiators' promises will be met. Given the importance of the stakes and public support on both sides of the Atlantic, the rapporteur, Jacek Krawczyk (Poland), who is head of the Employers Group at the EESC, stressed the need for an “ongoing and transparent” dialogue with civil society, and he underlined the EESC's determination to play its part in the negotiations for this.
On the thorny issue of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), the co-rapporteur, Sandy Boyle (UK) from the Employees Group, stated that the complexity of the issue required a separate own-initiative opinion analysing existing practices and the new ISDS model presented by the European Commission for public consultation. The EESC's opinion calls, furthermore, for the inclusion of arrangements in the TTIP aiming to ensure the supply of energy and strategic raw materials. Lastly, the EESC members also agreed that the TTIP should include specific provisions supporting SMEs, and should maintain public services in the EU in accordance with EU treaty obligations. (EH)