European-wide protests against TTIP, CETA and TISA on October 11, 2014

[quote align=’left’]TTIP, CETA, TiSA – these three upcoming trade deals gravely threaten our democracy, the environment, health rights, food sovereignty, jobs, wages, public services and digital rights among other basic rights in Europe.[/quote][dropcap]O[/dropcap]n October 11, 2014, tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organisations in 21 countries are organising actions to reclaim democracy, and stop the negotiations on three far-reaching trade agreements: the EU-US deal (TTIP*), the EU-Canada deal (CETA*) and the trade in services deal (TiSA*).

This decentralised European Day of Action – consisting of over 300 actions, marches, meetings and flash mobs – is being organised by an unprecedented alliance of civil society groups and individuals, social movements, trade unions, rights defenders, farmers and grassroots activist groups.

We are determined to put the environment and people’s rights before corporate interests, which is what these agreements are meant to serve.

In many places, the actions to stop TTIP, CETA and TiSA will converge with the global day of action against fracking (‘Global Frackdown’).

Democracy will not be traded away!

For an overview of protests across Europe, see the map
For a list of supporting groups, see the list of supporting groups

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* TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – EU/US), CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – EU/Canada), TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement)

These three upcoming trade deals gravely threaten our democracy, the environment, health rights, food sovereignty, jobs, wages, public services and digital rights among other basic rights in Europe.

Negotiations are being carried out in secret, while corporate lobbies increasingly influence them.

One very controversial aspect of the deals is the investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS). This will allow corporations investing abroad to sue foreign governments when they take actions – such as regulatory measures to protect public health or the environment – that affect their expected profits. Another is ‘regulatory cooperation’ which will drive standards protecting people and the environment on both sides of the Atlantic down to a minimum common denominator – a race to the bottom – in order to satisfy industry.

Civil society across Europe is fighting back and will reject these deals. We have alternatives to this corporate-driven trade model, which put peoples’ rights, democracy and the environment first.

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International Press Release published by www.stop-ttip-ceta-tisa.eu