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LMP leader demands Hungary steps against EU free trade pacts with Canada, US
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Budapest, October 12 (MTI) – The green opposition LMP has demanded that Hungary take action to prevent the ratification of the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada.
Andras Schiffer, the party’s co-chair and group leader, also called on the Hungarian prime minister on Monday “to genuinely represent” the country’s national interests at talks between Brussels and the United States on the prospective Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Speaking at a press conference in Eger, in northern Hungary, he urged Viktor Orban to find allies in eastern and southern Europe in efforts to lobby Brussels to suspend talks on these agreements as soon as possible.
The Hungarian prime minister should build “an alliance” for this cause, similar to the one he managed to bring together in central Europe on the migration crisis, Schiffer said.
“Pending ratification by the individual countries, the CETA is the anteroom to the TTIP,” Schiffer said, adding that “let’s have no illusions … anything included in CETA will ultimately be part of the TTIP as well.”
A provision in CETA allows multinational companies the possibility to “punish” national governments by launching a lawsuit in an “offshore international tribunal,” Schiffer said, adding that by ratifying that pact, Hungary would “bid farewell” to the country’s GMO-free status, which is encoded in the country’s basic law.
“Schiffer noted that petitions signed by 3 million EU citizens, demanding immediate termination of the TTIP talks, were submitted to Brussels last week and a demonstration by 250,000 against the deal was held in Berlin on Saturday.”
Let me guess, the richer EU countries, Germany, France and UK protested, right! This would bring their wages down to the levels of the east EU states? It would bring the East EU state wages up? Yawn!!