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US-EU Trade Deal to Damage Small, Medium Business in Europe

© Flickr / Gary KnightAn anti-TTIP protest meeting at Parliament Square, London
An anti-TTIP protest meeting at Parliament Square, London - Sputnik International
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The United States and the European Union are currently negotiating a free trade agreement, titled the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which opponents say will make it harder for European states to regulate markets. The ninth round of TTIP negotiations will be held April 20-24.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The creation of a new trade alliance between the United States and the European Union could undermine small and medium business in Europe, a spokesman for Austria's Green Economy organization told Sputnik Germany.

"All those talks and the way these talks are being held indicate that a deadly mixture is being created there against small and medium business in Austria and Europe. Too much is being put at stake for the sake of the interests of a few export-oriented enterprises that prioritize inter-continental trade," Volker Plass said.

An anti-TTIP protest meeting at Parliament Square, London - Sputnik International
Too Many Questions, Not Enough Answers: UK Parliament Slams TTIP Plans
More than 1.6 million people in Europe have signed a petition against the proposed TTIP agreement, as well as against ratifying a similar deal with Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Plass called for open judicial debate on the deal instead of secretive talks.

Anti-TTIP campaigners explain that the deal is being negotiated without any government or expert oversight and is designed to benefit big corporations, not citizens, while posing a threat to democracy, environment, consumers and labor standards.

The Green Economy spokesman also underscored the need to maintain and develop social and ecological standards, as well as to protect existing regional structures in Europe.

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