Press releases

Today, the European Parliament voted 419–258 to reject a motion asking the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on the legality of the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA). The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) is disappointed in the lack of parliamentary support for a legal check that could increase consumer trust in global trade treaties.

A broad group of civil society and consumer organisations as well as trade unions call on the EU’s trade ministers to reject the signature of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada [1]. The trade ministers are gathering in Bratislava today and tomorrow to discuss the ratification of the CETA agreement.

The e-commerce, financial services and telecoms texts of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) have recently been leaked. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) concludes that these texts are unlikely to lead to a good deal for consumers.

As of tomorrow, negotiators will meet in Geneva for the 18th round of negotiations for a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). This little-known trade deal is about everything from phone-calls to making payments, ordering goods online, international flights and more. It is therefore vital that civil society can give constructive feedback on the negotiations. This is currently next to impossible, due to a lack of publicly available texts.