MOSCOW (Sputnik) — President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz promised the Stop TTIP movement that he would look into whether the rejection of a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) against the EU-US Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership and a similar EU-Canada deal called CETA in July 2014 was legal, Anne Daenner, a spokeswoman for Stop TTIP, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
“We got the response from Mr. Schulz yesterday. He said that he wanted to inform the committee on petitions to meet as soon as possible with representatives of Stop TTIP. He said that it should be checked why the European Commission had rejected the ECI 'Stop TTIP,' how this is compatible with the European legal norms and if the rejection is legally correct,” Daenner said.
The stated goal of TTIP is to streamline the flow of goods and services across the Atlantic. The pact seeks to create the world's largest deregulated trade zone, encompassing over 60 percent of global production.
Anti-TTIP activists criticize the trade deal for the unusual secrecy in which it is being negotiated, and are concerned that released sections of the document clearly show that it will benefit multinational corporations and corporate rights-holders at the expense of sovereign nations and consumers.
The next round of TTIP talks is planned for the beginning of 2016.