In an opinion compiled by Georgi Pirinski (S&D, Bulgaria) and adopted by 27 votes in favour and 24 against on Thursday 8 December, the European Parliament's employment and social affairs committee calls on the international trade committee to recommend that the whole European Parliament not ratify the EU-Canada free trade agreement (CETA) that was signed on 30 October.
As regards the creation of decent jobs, the empirical data based on real models show, at best, marginal overall increases for jobs in the EU, not exceeding 0.018% over an implementation period of 6 to 10 years, the opinion states.
Recent studies using these models forecast 204,000 real job losses for the whole EU, including 45,000 for France, 42,000 for Italy and 19,000 for Germany, the opinion adds, stating that a 2011 impact assessment on sustainable development shows "significant sectorial dislocations, eventually leading to increases in long-term unemployment".
As regards salaries, CETA would contribute to broadening the gap between skilled and unskilled workers, thus increasing inequalities and social tensions, and the redistribution effects on national income that are projected for the EU favour capital owners, who would enjoy a 0.66% increase in their income, the text states.
The opinion also warns of risks to be incurred by the 619,000 European SMEs that export outside the EU and that, under CETA, would be exposed to the "full force of competition" from large North American transnational corporations, thus endangering the 90 million jobs that the European SMEs provide.
Furthermore, the opinion underlines the "clear disparity" between the levels of protection envisaged for investors in the framework of the new investor-state dispute settlement system, the ICS system, and for labour rights in the consultations mechanism provided for in the chapter on sustainable development.
The opinion also warns against the negative effects of CETA for trade with developing countries, as CETA favours north-north trade. This runs counter to the UN's 2030 development goals.
In addition, the opinion highlights a "serious doubt" regarding the compatibility of the ICS system and the principle of provisional application of CETA with the existing EU law. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)