Stiff Public Opposition May End Talks on EU-US Trade Deal – German Lawmaker

The TTIP, being negotiated mostly in secret with very little information available to the public, poses a serious threat to the sovereign rights of countries and their citizens, a representative of German Die Linke party told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova – Public opposition to the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is increasing pressure on negotiations for the EU-US free trade deal and may prevent the treaty from coming into force, a German lawmaker from Die Linke party told Sputnik.

“Public debate in Germany is becoming more and more critical about the use of this treaty and its dangers, a lot more people are concerned about this. So I think we are in a good situation to stop this treaty,” Andrej Hunko said, adding that citizen initiatives and hundreds of NGOs are very active, putting a lot of pressure on TTIP.

He pointed out that the TTIP, being negotiated mostly in secret with very little information available to the public, poses a serious threat to the sovereign rights of countries and their citizens.

“All we know about this is a number of very problematic issues, especially the system of investor-state settlements,” Hunko told Sputnik. “The companies can stand trial against states and gain billions of dollars.”

According to the lawmaker, who is also a German delegate to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, the treaty gives multinational corporations increased arbitration power over states.

Hunko said he is skeptical about the TTIP despite optimistic predictions of more jobs and increased economic growth. According to Hunko, long-term economic instability and citizens earning inequality are more likely results of the TTIP.

In Europe, over 1.7 million people signed a petition against the TTIP and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a similar treaty the European Union is discussing with Canada.