European lawmakers on Wednesday backed a
compromise plan designed to spur negotiations on a trade pact between the
European Union and the United States and overcome deep divisions within the
European Parliament.
Opposition to the proposed trade pact between
the EU and the United States, which would be the world's biggest, has focused
on its provision for private arbitration. European opponents say this would
allow U.S. multinationals to challenge European food and environmental laws on
the grounds they restrict commerce.
The U.S. is making it a condition of their trade
negotiations that there is a dispute body.
While the main centre-right political group in
the European Parliament considers a U.S. trade deal would be pro-business, the
Greens as well as some far-left and far-right see it as a threat to EU
sovereignty and EU laws.
Wednesday's vote gained majority support after
Martin Schulz, a German socialist who heads the 751-seat European Parliament,
put forward a compromise on setting up a new European court to settle any
disputes.
"What citizens refuse (reject) is that as a
result of a trade agreement, legally and democratically adopted laws and
binding standards could be undermined by arbitration," Schulz said in
Strasbourg in a news conference ahead of the vote.
To counter that, he said his plan provided for a
transparent body that would not threaten EU laws. It would resolve quarrels
between investors and governments by using publicly appointed, independent professional
judges in public hearings.
The parliament has the power to reject any final
deal on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would
encompass a third of world trade.
The difficulty in getting as far as Wednesday's
vote underscores the depth of resistance in some quarters.
Wednesday's voting was interrupted by arguments
over procedure by politicians with "No to TTIP" banners.
In a statement, the Green group in the European
Parliament said the compromise version still allowed foreign investors to use a
separate layer of jurisdiction, other than the domestic legal system.
"The Greens call on citizens, trade unions,
non-governmental organizations, towns and regions and businesses to speak out
and contact their elected representatives and hold them to account on this
attempt to privatize justice and infringe democratic rights," Green Member
of the European Parliament Yannick Jadot said.
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