What Do the Negotiating Documents on TTIP Hide?

Today’s decision by the European Commission, after 11 months of negotiations, grants all Members of the European Parliament full access to all negotiating documents regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – the most significant economic corridor in the world, accounting for a total of 45% of global GDP.

With this decision, all Members of the European Parliament will, for the first time, be able to access American positions on all chapters of the negotiating process, in addition to European ones. Until now, only 30 out of 751 representatives had such access. This is a significant success for the initiative of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), which guarantees a higher level of transparency in the negotiating process.

– I welcome today’s decision by the Commission, which allows Members of the European Parliament – the only European body directly elected by citizens – to make judgments about TTIP based on complete information and enables us to be a kind of guardians of the negotiations, commented Croatian MEP Tonino Picula.

Let us remind you that 11 rounds of negotiations have been held between the European Union and the USA so far. The previous work of the Parliament has already influenced the amendment of the proposal regarding courts in cases of disputes between investors and states (the so-called ISDS clause), which the Commission published last month.  

As part of the European Parliament’s report on guidelines for continuing negotiations on TTIP, amendments by MEP Picula were adopted, calling for visa reciprocity and equal treatment for all EU citizens without discrimination against certain member states, especially a chapter aimed at creating new opportunities for European small and medium-sized enterprises in the USA, such as the elimination of the dual certification requirement, as well as additional access to funding sources that would facilitate the entry of small and medium-sized enterprises into the American market if TTIP is accepted, an amendment that, in addition to preserving the health of people and animals, explicitly calls for ensuring food safety and adherence to European precautionary principles regarding GMOs, as well as clearer communication with citizens about the process and content of the negotiations.

– Although TTIP must receive formal approval in the European Parliament and Congress, only citizens can give legitimacy to TTIP. I hope this is just one of the measures in the continuation of the process, which must aim to increase transparency and better inform citizens about this agreement. In this regard, I believe that negotiators should not be burdened by deadlines. The priority must be the protection of European values, concluded Picula.