EU-US TTIP negotiations
Parliament vote postponed as panic prevails in EP establishment
The European Parliament's president this evening decided to postpone the vote on a resolution on the ongoing EU-US TTIP trade and investment negotiations*, which had been foreseen for tomorrow. Commenting on the decision, Greens/EFA trade spokesperson Yannick Jadot said:
"The European Parliament's establishment is in panic that the vote on the EP's TTIP resolution will reveal the clear divisions within the larger political groups on the controversial EU-US negotiations. EP president Schulz has pulled a fast one and used an underhand administrative procedure to postpone tomorrow's vote and prevent these divisions from being put on the record, notably as regards the highly contentions ISDS investor protection mechanism.
"This division within the European Parliament on TTIP is a major turnaround from the last time MEPs voted on the issue 2 years ago and shows that the significant and mounting public pressure is bearing fruit. It is important that this pressure from the public and civil society is maintained. This resolution is just one step on a long road, with the TTIP negotiations liable to drag on for the foreseeable future. We will continue to raise these concerns with TTIP and fight to ensure that TTIP will not simply be waved through by a cosy coalition among the centre-right and centre-left political groups in the parliament."
* TTIP - Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
