Brussels, 28/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - Supported by a legal study, Foodwatch warned on Tuesday 28 June that the EU's precautionary principle was not anchored either in the future EU-US free trade agreement (TTIP) or in the future EU-Canada free trade agreement (CETA). Foodwatch underlined the threat that this poses for European health standards and consumer protection.
Under TTIP and CETA, Foodwatch warns that it would be extremely difficult to ban glyphosate. Furthermore, other controversial chemicals from the US or Canada could enter the European market, and food could be increasingly exposed to pesticides, the organisation warns, accusing political decision-makers of misleading the public on the risks posed by TTIP and CETA.
“The European precautionary principle is not given sufficient legal protection in TTIP and CETA. This puts the level of health protection and consumer protection at stake”, says Professor Peter-Tobias Stoll from the University of Göttingen who, along with Dr Wybe Th. Douma from the TMC Asser Instituut in The Hague and Professor Nicolas de Sadeleer form the Université Saint-Louis in Brussels, prepared the legal opinion promoted by Foodwatch.
In the view of the three authors, the precautionary principle “is not sufficiently anchored and safeguarded” in TTIP and CETA - in contrast to what European governments and decision-makers state. Furthermore, both TTIP and CETA refer to the legal obligations of the WTO, which do not reflect the precautionary principle as practised in Europe. According to the authors, regulatory proposals invoking the precautionary principle could be delayed, diluted or prevented in future.
The study can be consulted at: http://goo.gl/xgSDAr . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)