On Wednesday 6 December, the decision of the government of Argentina to refuse the access of several trade union and NGO representatives to the WTO ministerial conference being held in Buenos Aires on 10-13 December caused an outcry in European and global progressive circles.
On Tuesday 5 December, Spanish national Enrique Guerrero Salo, who is vice-president of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group at the European Parliament, called on the Argentine government, on behalf of the S&D and the Global Progressive Forum (an international network promoted by the European Socialist Party to develop a progressive global agenda), "to review their decision immediately and ensure the democratic participation of all representatives of civil society and workers" at the WTO conference.
"We consider that to achieve good results at the conference and greater legitimacy for the decisions that will be taken there, it is crucial to involve all stakeholders and have a transparent dialogue", Guerrero Salo said.
"Locking people out of the WTO will only further undermine its legitimacy", the global ecology NGO Friends of the Earth stated on Wednesday 6 December – which saw the accreditation of two of its experts suspended at the event.
"Trade deals affect people’s everyday lives, from the food we eat to the energy we use, and must not be discussed in secret, behind closed doors (...) We need more public participation in trade policy, not less", Friends of the Earth stated.
The same NGO criticises the black lists of Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, "which reveal the true face of his government: neoliberal, corporate and serving one-per-cent of the population. This is a government attempting to silence the voice of civil society".
Friends of the Earth says the decision of the government of Argentina is "worrying" at at time when the presidency of the G20 is about to pass from Germany to Argentina. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)