Dutch Watchdogs Launch Twitter Campaign Against EU-US Free Trade Deal

Activists in the Netherlands on Tuesday started an online campaign against the controversial free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, a day before the European Parliament will vote on the deal.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) –  Opponents say that the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal will benefit big corporations rather than ordinary citizens, as the deal’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system would enable foreign investors to sue states for damages.

Several watchdogs called on Twitter users on Tuesday to urge Dutch members of the European Parliament to vote against the ISDS, using hashtag #TTIPalarm, according to the campaign’s Facebook page.

“We do not want companies and the US government to decide what our rules, laws and standards should look like. Such things threaten our democracy,” the rights groups said in a statement.

Following the start of the campaign, #TTIPalarm became one of the top trending topics in the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Over 2 million people have signed an online petition against TTIP and a similar deal with Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

On April 18, waves of protests against TTIP spread across Europe, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to express their dissatisfaction at the speed and secrecy of the treaty negotiations and the possible negative impact of the deal.