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Jean Lambert London's Green MEP

Beware the TTIP charm offensive

Published in the letters page of today’s Guardian:

The next few days will see a TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) charm offensive. Some EU leaders will make renewed PR efforts to flog this deal to the public and conclude negotiations by the end of the year. The Centre for Economic Policy Research estimates that the EU’s combined GDP will be boosted by 0.5% in the ten years after TTIP’s implementation. Even if such projections are correct, what is lacking is a guarantee that any benefits would be evenly distributed, or benefit the poorest.

When 92% of those involved in consultations have been corporate lobbyists, citizens are right to suspect that TTIP will benefit corporations at the expense of democracy. MEPs must sign an agreement banning us from sharing any of the contents of “secret” papers with those we represent. There are many reasons to oppose this deal, but be aware of the pro-TTIP hype while we continue to keep up the pressure to have it dropped.
Jean Lambert MEP Green, London,

Keith Taylor MEP Green, South East England,

Molly Scott Cato MEP Green, South West England