Ahead of the 13th round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) taking place in New York from 25-29 April, and ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Europe, the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament restate their commitment for a comprehensive deal.
S&D spokesperson on trade, David Martin, said:
"The Socialist and Democrats Group would like to reaffirm our commitment to an ambitious and progressive TTIP.
"We continue to push for a TTIP agreement that upholds the highest levels of workers' rights, social and environmental standards, that protects public services by fully excluding services of general interest and services of general economic interest, and that rejects the outdated Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism. These are integral parts of the deal and must not be forgotten in a quest for expediency.
"To be absolutely clear, a TTIP-light would not be acceptable. Only an ambitious TTIP can deliver the predicted economic benefits, and only an ambitious TTIP can be convincingly said to set progressive global trade rules for the future."
S&D rapporteur and chair of the parliamentary trade committee, Bernd Lange MEP said:
"It's time for a reality check: the prospects of TTIP are diminishing rapidly - there has been too little movement for too long. We won't simply accept a TTIP-light for an agreement's sake and will not shy away from voting down a bad deal.
"It is encouraging to see the huge public interest and debate surrounding this agreement. We need this public scrutiny to make sure our trade deals reflect our values and benefit the people."
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