The Party of the European Left (EL) denounces the European Commission rejection of the European Citizens´ Initiative (ECI) against the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) and the CETA (similar free deal with Canada) which is been negotiated behind close doors since summer 2013.

Maite Mola, vice president of the EL, named it “a shield to be able to freely conclude the process of secret negotiations which, among other things, would strengthen the interest of powerful transnational corporations on top of the national Governments" talking about the so-called “investor-to-state dispute settlement” (ISDS) which grants foreign corporations the right to take cases to private trade tribunals and directly challenge government policies and actions that corporations allege reduce the value of their investments.

The vice president of EL warned the TTIP and the CETA will increase the labour deregulation, and will cause lost of work in agriculture, farming and medium-sized European industry as well as a harmful result on european people´s lives caused by the more flexible environmental protection rules and health guarantees, among so many other thinghs.

In its last Ex Board, held in June in Brussels, The Party of the European Left (EL) welcomed and strongly supported the initiative of a European Citizens' Initiative against TTIP and CETA organized by an alliance of different progressive European movements and organisations

The Party of the European Left is holding a campaign against the TTIP and the CETA and will carry on denouncing the consequences of this free trade aggreements which only improve the benefit of the capital and the international corporations.

More information on
http://www.european-left.org/node/2580
and http://www.european-left.org/positions/news-archive/party-european-left-supports-european-citizens-initiative-against-ttip-and