“The
newly-elected government in Athens has always been suspicious of the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and will use
its Parliament majority to sink the EU-US trade pact, claims a former
Syriza MEP now turned minister. EurActiv Greece reports. After making
its voice heard in the debate over sanctions on Russia, the new
government in Athens is now making its opposition known to the EU-US
trade deal, TTIP.”
“Georgios
Katrougkalos, a former influential Syriza MEP who quit his European
Parliament seat to become deputy minister for administrative reform
in the leftist Greek government, said the new leadership in Athens
will use its veto to kill the proposed trade pact – at least in its
current form.”
“Asked
by EurActiv Greece whether the promise still holds now Syriza is in
power, Katrougkalos replied: 'I can ensure you that a Parliament
where Syriza holds the majority will never ratify the deal. And this
will be a big gift not only to the Greek people but to all the
European people'.”
“Indeed,
once the pact is negotiated – a process which may still take over a
year –, it will be submitted for a unanimous vote in the European
Council, where each of the 28 EU national governments are
represented. This means that one country can use its veto power to
influence the negotiations or block the trade deal as a whole, an
opportunity Syriza will no doubt use. And even if the pact makes it
past this first stage, it will then be submitted to ratification by
all parliaments of the 28 EU Member States, offering opponents a
second opportunity to wield a veto.”
“Meanwhile,
Syriza’s coalition partner, the right-wing anti-austerity
Independent Greeks party, takes a similar stance against TTIP. In a
statement issued on 4 November 2014, the then-opposition party said
the deal will not live up to its promise of relaunching economic
activity. 'It is supposed to be an agreement that will boost the real
economy, but its main supporters are international bankers and
lobbies,' emphasised Marina Chrysoveloni, a spokesperson for
Independent Greeks. 'In simple words, the speculative capital will
have even more freedom to move […] in a huge single market with
eight hundred million people,' she concluded.”
https://greekleftreview.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/syriza-led-greek-parliament-will-never-ratify-ttip/
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