Open letter calling on MEPs to reject CETA
Dear MEPs,
I have been following developments with regard to CETA for some time now. While I was eventually expecting for there to be some semblance of democracy in the European Parliament, I have to say that I am now absolutely outraged at how democratic debate on this deal has been impeded by political groups, namely the European People’s Party (EPP), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D).
On Thursday November 17, European Parliament President Martin Schulz (S&D) decided that the Parliament’s Employment and Environment Committees will not be allowed to issue their critical opinions. This is unprecedented in the European Parliament and the President’s decision needs to be denounced. In June 2015, Mr Schulz already used and abused a procedural mechanism to prevent a Parliament vote on the investor-state dispute mechanism (ISDS) when adopting his resolution on TTIP. This came just a few months after the European Commission consultation on ISDS when this mechanism had been rejected by 97% of the consultation respondents. Now Mr Schulz is blocking democracy once again.
Today, I learned that EPP and S&D leaders are now trying to prevent any consultation of the European Court of Justice to check the legality of CETA, specifically the corporate courts. Over 100 law professors, legal experts and the European and German Associations of Judges believe that the Investment Court System in CETA is not legal under EU law. How can democratically elected Members of Parliament ignore these expert opinions?
Next week, on Wednesday November 23, MEPs will have a chance to vote on whether the new system of corporate courts under CETA should be scrutinised by the European Courts of Justice before it is established. How are you planning to vote on this resolution?
Meanwhile, the plenary vote on this 1,600-page text is being rammed through the European Parliament against the democratic will. Below some examples of the strong resistance to CETA to date:
- Across the EU, millions have signed petitions and contacted their elected representatives demanding that CETA be rejected.
- Millions have marched to denounce the undemocratic provisions contained in this agreement.
- Over 2,100 local authorities have declared themselves CETA & TTIP Free Zones.
- The Walloon Parliament — the only parliament in Europe to take the time to hold any in-depth debate on CETA, largely because of efforts by extremely well organised civil society groups — did its best to hold up the signing ceremony between the EU Council and the Canadian government — until it was bullied by European Commission technocrats into backing down.
- In most European countries, there has no national parliamentary debate despite repeated demands for there to be one.
- With the lower house of the Irish Parliament, the Dáil, refusing to hold such a debate, the Irish upper house, the Seanad, held a vote which saw a majority voting to oppose CETA. The result was unfortunately ignored by the government which proceeded to give its green light ahead of the EU Council signing cermony.
Countless studies and reports have warned about the negative impacts of this agreement. One of the first reports that caught my attention was one entitled ‘The right to say no’ on how CETA would threaten fracking bans.
In recent years, the issue of fracking has mobilised groups across Europe. Such mobilisation resulted in the French and Bulgarian governments introducing legislative bans. The French ban, in particular, is now under threat because of CETA. Countries like Ireland and Scotland have yet to ban fracking and attempts to introduce outright legislative bans may be impeded because of CETA’s provisions on corporate courts, as well as the regulatory co-operation measures which seek to undermine the precautionary principle. The mere threat of CETA is also creating a system where local democracy is being weighted in favour of the fracking industry with many local jurisdictions now stripped of the right to introduce local bans or to reject applications, especially in the UK. If CETA is ratified, this situation will only be further aggravated and it will be impossible for communities to protect their air and water because all the power will rest with corporations, not citizens.
Many right-wing parlementarians claim to represent the interests of farmers yet still support this corporate power grab which will facilitate fracking, thereby damaging farmers’ livelihoods. This week, the European Commission published a report whose findings deliver a damning verdict for agriculture, according to Irish MEP Matt Carthy who has been very active on this topic.
It is also clear that CETA represents a bad deal for people and planet as a new analysis from the NGOs Transport & Environment and Client Earth published today reveals. With 610 MEPs having voted to ratify the Paris Agreement on October 4, you would think the same number will pledge to reject CETA. So far, this looks unlikely.
There is so much wrong with this agreement but what disturbs me the most — and what should disturb you too since you have been elected to serve the interests of your constituents, not those of multinational corporations who will be the main beneficiaries of this agreement— is how leaders of the main parliamentary groups are preventing important European Parliament committees from giving CETA any serious scrutiny.
Given all the concerns expressed above, I am urging you strongly to reject CETA at the upcoming vote — which as I was writing — has now been brought forward to December 14. Yet another retrograde step by the European Parliament, allowing even less time for constituents to lobby their MEPs on a deal which will affect every aspect of our lives.
Yours sincerely,
….
