“For those of us in the thick of the EU referendum
debate, the contempt shown by the TTIP negotiators to the people of Europe is the most potent
reminder of the democratic deficit at the heart of
the EU institutions.”
You can read the Independent article here.
The revelations are disconcerting for the British and
European peoples. For example, the Independent
reports that TTIP could cause the privitazation of
the National Health Service and the UK Parliament
would be powerless to stop it.
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See also.
In our debate Sean O’Grady performed as a shill,
a propagandist for the corporate interests behind
TTIP. He said that it was a free trade agreement that
benefitted everyone just as NAFTA and other such
agreements have proved to be the case. Tell that to
all the displaced American workers.
He said that it was unfortunate that the secrecy had
possibly hurt the agreement’s prospects and that it
would have been better if the pact’s provisions had
been known as they were negotiated. That way, he
said, the agreement would not be threatened by the
shock effect of the leaked documents.
O’Grady also claimed that no one has thus far
agreed to the pact despite the fact that the representatives have agreed to the pact. Perhaps what
he means is that legislatures have not given their
approval.
The headline on the Independent article suggests
that the leak will prevent approval: “After the leaks
showing what it stands for, this could really be the
end for TTIP.” If so, O’Grady regards it as a great
loss. For the global corporations, of course, not for
the peoples it would exploit.
The Greenpeace revelations should deep-six the
pact, but I am uncertain. French president Hollande says, provisionally, that France will not sign
the pact as it is. In other words, give us some fuzzy
language to make it look like we got it fixed.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Bercero,
a likely recipient of a large bribe, rushed to the
defense of TTIP by declaring Greenpeace to be
“flatly wrong.” Bercero’s statement makes no sense.
Greenpeace released the official documents. No one
denies that the leaked documents are legitimate.
So apparently Bercero’s position is that the official
documents are wrong. He sounds like a guy working hard for his money.
Bercero, went on to say, according to the BBC, that
“it is not correct to say the US is pushing for lowering of the level of protection in the EU.” This is an
amazing lie! Those who are trying to put a good
face on the leak themselves admit that this is precisely what the US is trying to do. They claim that
the Europeans haven’t yet given in.
It is disingeneous for Bercero or O’Grady or anyone
to pretend that TTIP has not been from the very
beginning about establishing global corporate
hegemony over the governments of democratic
countries. I pointed this out when the corporations
first made their move. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific
“partnerships” are about giving global capitalism
immunity from the laws of sovereign countries.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilla Malmstroem is,
according to the BBC, “steering the TTIP talks.”
Malmstroem, another likely recipient of a large
bribe, says: “I am simply not in the business of
lowering standards.”
TheSovereignVoice.Org