‘No provisional application of free trade agreement CETA’
Marianne Thieme calls on the Lower House to stop provisional application of CETA. The European Commission wants the free trade agreement between Canada and the EU to be implemented as soon as possible. Being against this agreement, the Party for the Animals wants to give the Dutch people a chance to speak out before it is entered into force.
In view of the considerable resistance to free trade agreements, a referendum on CETA is inevitable. During the General Consultations of the Foreign Affairs Council in the Lower House, Marianne Thieme has called on the government to stop provisional application of CETA and provide the people with the opportunity to give their views on the subject.
Thieme: “There is great social opposition to free trade agreement CETA. In spite of this, Brussels wants the agreement to be implemented provisionally, despite the fact that the national governments have not yet given their support. In society, there is an increasing demand for a referendum. Brussels and the Dutch government should respect democracy.”
Back door TTIP
Now that France and Germany seem to have turned against TTIP, the free trade agreement between the EU and the US is as good as dead. CETA will now serve as a back door allowing American companies with branches in Canada to keep engaging in free trade with Europe. Therefore it is even more important that Dutch citizens can say ‘no’ to this far-reaching agreement before it is implemented.