Brussels Considers Public Concerns Over TTIP During Talks With US

The European Union addresses public concerns during its negotiations with the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The TTIP agreement seeks to liberalize trade between the United States and Europe, creating the world's largest trade zone, encompassing more than 60 percent of global production, in the process.

“There is a major public debate. It's very intense in the German-speaking world in particular, but it extends all across the EU,” Malmstrom said.

She added that the European Commission welcomes this debate.

“We are engaging with our critics and we are taking their concerns seriously,” she stressed.

Among the measures taken on board by Brussels, Malmstrom listed the opening of the negotiations to public scrutiny and a new EU approach to the issue of investment protection.

Besides, she stressed that the European Union was committed to exclude from the deal any provisions that could “undermine the way EU regulation protects our citizens,” “change how we provide for people who get sick or how we educate our children” or "restrict how we choose to do any of these things in the future.”

The controversial TTIP deal is opposed by many Europeans who claim that the pact would undermine standards and regulations on environmental protection, health and safety, as well as workers’ rights, among other points.

Over 3.3 million people have signed a petition against TTIP and a similar EU-Canada deal called CETA, while a protest against both deals in Berlin brought out some 150,000-250,000 people on October 11, according to various estimates.