Brussels, 22/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - The chair of the European Parliament's international trade committee, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), has promised the first version of the draft resolution on the new Parliament recommendations to the European Commission by the end of February, as part of the free trade talks between the EU and US (TTIP) launched in June 2013.
“Parliament must use its influence on framing the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) rules to ensure that they serve all EU citizens, not just a few economic players”, said Lange on Wednesday 21 January, at the first debate on these recommendations. “We must insist that the talks are more democratic and more transparent”, he added.
During the debate, centre-right MEPs stressed the need for the Parliament's demands to be written in the most positive terms, concentrating on the Parliament's requests rather than on red lines. Most of the participants also insisted on the need to have protection for investors which does not limit the parties' rights to settlement. The need to include a binding chapter on sustainable development was also mentioned on several occasions.
The Parliament's new recommendations will be based on an assessment of the main results of the negotiations thus far. The recommendations will propose adjustments that take account of the fears raised by civil society and the new political actors, following the renewal of the EU bodies' leaders on the one hand, and of the US Congress on the other.
Ten other European Parliament committees will give their opinion on the TTIP negotiations and will contribute to Lange's document, ahead of its adoption by the Parliament in May.
Labour against the ISDS mechanism. In a press release published on Wednesday, the British delegation of the socialist and democrat (S&D) group at the European Parliament reaffirmed its scepticism about including an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in TTIP. “We have been making the case to the government, the Commission and the US negotiators that having ISDS in TTIP is not a good idea. We must now turn to MEPs from across the political spectrum to try to build a majority in support of our call to remove it from TTIP. We have the power to veto any TTIP if it does not meet the requirements we believe are essential to creating a fair deal for Europe. However, this power is a blunt instrument and must be handled with care. Rather than dismiss legitimate concerns, the UK government should be defending them. Labour MEPs have been consistent in raising the need for a full exclusion for our public services and protection for our standards and rights”, said Jude Kirton-Darling. “By removing ISDS, fully protecting public services and maintaining the EU's high regulatory standards, we could build a strong consensus for a positive TTIP”, said David Martin. (EH)