Over 1.2Mln EU Citizens Sign Anti EU-US Free Trade Agreement Petition

MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — Over 1.2 million citizens of European Union member states have signed a petition against the creation of a free trade zone between the European Union and the United States, Stop TTIP, a non-governmental organization, told RIA Novosti on Friday.

"We have already closed the quorum in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Finland, and gathered more than 100 percent of the required votes in support of the initiative… We have gathered over 1.2 million signatures," Stop TTIP told RIA Novosti.

The petition organized by Stop TTIP, whose name stands for the "Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership," will continue through September 2015, after which the signatures collected will be handed over to the European Commission.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. Should it be signed, it will eliminate trade barriers and alleviate the purchase and sale of goods and services between the European Union and the United States, according to the EU.

According to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, the signing of the agreement would also result in more jobs and economic growth both in the European Union and the United States.