TTIP-reguleringssamarbejde Udemokratisk og unødvendigt bureaukrati

Reguleringssamarbejdet mellem EU og USA er i fokus ved ”The Nordic TTIP Debate” afholdt af British Chamber of Commerce d. 5.11. på Hotel Marriot i København. Som en del af TTIP-forhandlingerne diskuterer EU og USA forslag til et reguleringssamarbejde, der skal give de to parter mulighed for at deregulere varme emner som miljø, fødevarer og finanssektoren for at tilgodese handlen.

”Vi er glade for at, reguleringssamarbejdet kommer på dagsordenen i Danmark og Norden, da det er en problemstilling, der kan sidestilles med debatten om særdomstolene ISDS og ICS. Reguleringssamarbejdet repræsenterer på samme vis endnu et massivt angreb på demokratiet og nødvendig lovgivning”,  udtaler Nanna L. Clifforth fra NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark.

Gennem reguleringssamarbejdet vil virksomheder få mulighed for at blive involverede i lovgivningsprocessen før EU-Parlamentet og medlemsstaternes parlamenter. De vil på alle tidspunkter få mulighed for at påvirke, om et lovforslag bliver virkelig og kan være med til at forsinke processen. US Chamber of Commerce og Business Europa har derfor også udtalt, at det giver dem mulighed for at være med til at skrive lovgivningen[1] [2].

Reguleringssamarbejdet skal styres af et reguleringsråd, som kan foreslå gensidig anerkendelse eller harmonisering af eksisterende og fremtidig lovgivning for ikke at forstyrre handlen[3] [4].

”Det er udemokratisk og uacceptabelt, at virksomheder og lobbyister kan standse og ændre vores lovgivning. Samtidig er reguleringssamarbejdet et sindrigt system, der skaber et kæmpe bureaukrati, som kan stoppe og forsinke lovgivning. Vi har brug for øget beskyttelse af miljø og mennesker, ikke mere unødvendigt bureaukrati. Et reguleringssamarbejde burde derfor være udelukket i TTIP”, afslutter Nanna L. Clifforth.

En kritisk stemme i debatten

I forbindelse med konferencen, vil TTIP-netværket opføre en aktion kl. 8.15 foran hotel Marriot for at give debatten en kritisk stemme. Dertil findes en fælles nordisk TTIP-erklæring udformet i forbindelse med arrangementet.

[1] http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/the-gift-that-keeps-on-g…

[2] http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/businesseurope-uschamber…

[3] Corporate European Observatory 2015: TTIP: Covert attacks on democracy and regulation

[4] http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2015/01/ttip-regulations…

Nordic Civil society groups denounce “regulatory cooperation” in the TTIP negotiations as a threat to democracy and an attempt to put the interests of big business before the protection of citizens, workers, and the environment

Today, 5th November 2015, the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark and the representation of the EU in Denmark will host a so-called “TTIP Nordic Debate” (1) focussing on regulatory issues. While representatives from Nordic civil-society groups are present in the program, thereby allowing critical input, the objective for the debate, as the organisers themselves write, is for “the European Commission, along with governments and business/industry leaders to secure public endorsement of the deal”.

In that regard, we, the undersigned organisations, hereby express our deep concern about and our firm opposition to the direction of the TTIP negotiations regarding the regulation of vital areas, such as chemicals, food standards, public services, occupational health and safety, and financial regulation. While we see regulations in all of these areas as crucial for the protection of the public interest, the proponents see them primarily as “restricting trade”.

The latest leaked European Commission position on the regulatory cooperation chapter of the TTIP negotiations (2) clearly supports our concerns that TTIP will undermine and prevent important regulation. The Commission proposals for regulatory cooperation carry the threat of lowering standards in the long and short term. They constrain democratic decision-making by strengthening the influence of big business over regulation. This threatens to delay and stall stronger protections from e.g. toxic chemicals and pesticides (3) and could also constitute a gradual attack on the precautionary principle, slowly but widely opening doors to e.g. GMOs, and preventing important regulation of nanomaterials, neonicotinoid pesticides and endocrine disruptors (4).

The Commission proposes a system that can only result in further barriers to developing public interest standards, as these would need to be ‘trade and investment’ proof. It also gives unprecedented influence to business lobby groups to stop any new regulation that would impact on trade and investment. The proposal strongly prioritises trade and investment over the public interest. The system would give enormous power to a small group of unelected officials to stop and weaken regulations and standards even before democratically elected bodies, such as the Nordic and the European parliaments, would have a say over them, thus undermining our democratic system.

The Commission calls for more “compatibility” between laws on both sides of the Atlantic and a “pro-competitive regulatory environment”.  However, as demonstrated by a European Parliament report (5), compatibility is going to lead to “downward harmonisation”.

The Commission proposal also reflects industry’s demand to create a Regulatory Cooperation Body to facilitate an early information system of consultations and influence over the development of new laws. In line with the demands of business lobby groups (6), US and EU businesses would have a greater say on most laws in Brussels, as well as Nordic capitals.

For these reasons, we show our firm opposition to regulatory cooperation in the TTIP negotiations and call on all democratic forces to join us.

Signed by:

Afrika Kontakt

ATTAC Danmark

Forebyggelses- og Patientrådet

Biodynamiske Forbrugere

NOAH – Friends of the Earth Denmark

Mayday

Corporate Europe Observatory

Danish Eco-Council

Actionaid Denmark (Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke)

National Union of Students Denmark

Universities Allied for Essential Medicines Danmark (UAEM Danmark)

Dansk Magisterforening

Cogito

TTIP Network Finland

Attac Finland

Maailmankauppojen liitto ry (The Finnish Union of World Shops)

Finnish NGDO platform to the EU

350 Finland

Friend of the Earth Finland

The Finnish Nature League

Parecon Finland

Amandamaji ry

Naiset Rauhan Puolesta (Women for Peace Finland)

Naiset Atomivoimaa Vastaan (Woman against Nuclear Power Finland)

ATTAC Norge

Handelskampanjen

(1) http://www.bccd.dk/Events/Event%20listing/2015/11/ttip-nordic-debate.as…

(2) http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2014/12/ttip-covert-atta…

(3) http://ciel.org/Publications/LCD_TTIP_Jan2015.pdf

(4) https://www.agra-net.net/agra/agra-europe/crops/ttip-must-prioritise-re…—coceral–1.htm

http://www.merid.org/en/Content/News_Services/Nanotechnology_and_Develo…

http://www.croplifeamerica.org/sites/default/files/ECPA-CLA%20TTIP%20Po…

http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/is-democracy-a-trade-barrier/

http://www.foe.org/news/news-releases/2015-10-powerful-pesticide-lobby-…

(5) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2014/514007/AGRI_IPOL…

(6) http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/businesseurope-uschamber…