On Tuesday morning GUE/NGL will hold a conference on the impact that free trade agreements currently under negotiation will have on sustainable development.

Titled 'TTIP, TPP, CETA, TiSA – What impact will they have on democracy and sustainable development?', the event will bring MEPs together with leaders of citizens' movements and social and environmental NGOs from both sides of the Atlantic.

Speakers will discuss the impact of the newly elected Canadian government on the CETA agreement and its investor-state dispute mechanism (ISDS). They will also provide analysis of the newly released text of the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Furthermore, in the lead-up to the COP21 meeting in Paris, the event aims to identify the impacts of these free trade agreements on climate change and sustainable development, and to strengthen the links between organisations around the world that are campaigning against these agreements.

Trade policy coordinator for GUE/NGL, Helmut Scholz, explains: “A number of large trade agreements are currently being negotiated in parallel. In our view, their combined impact is likely to change our planet in a way that contradicts our democratically decided climate and sustainable development goals.”

“We have also organised this conference to provide a platform for the voices of civil society that have not been invited to the TTIP promotion event organised by the Luxemburg EU Presidency which is taking place at the same time,” Scholz concluded.

Speakers will include:

Gary Neil, Council of Canadians (Canada)

Pierre-Yves Serinet, RQIC (Quebec network for continental integration) (Canada)

Gopakumar Kappoori, Third World Network (India)

John Hilary, War on Want (UK)

Ruth Bergan, Trade Justice Movement (UK)

Paul de Clerck, Friends of the Earth Europe (Netherlands)

 

Participating GUE/NGL MEPs will include:

Gabi Zimmer, Germany

Helmut Scholz, Germany

Anne-Marie Mineur, Netherlands

Lola Sanchez, Spain

Eleonora Forenza, Italy

Matt Carthy, Ireland

& more to be announced

 

GUE/NGL Press Contact:

Nikki Sullings  +32 22 83 27 60 / +32 483 03 55 75

Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20