WHO is Jurgen Maier? Jurgen Maier, who came with his son, Johnny, is Director of the German NGO Forum Environment & Development, a network monitoring international negotiations and currently coordinating Germany’s campaign against TTIP. Jurgen spoke about the campaign against TTIP in Germany and throughout Europe. We’ll discuss our own efforts against TPP and TTIP here in the NYC area. Together the group brainstormed and exchanged ideas on how we can be effective and support each others’ efforts.
What is the TTP and TTIP? From the Food and Water Watch website, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal includes little-known provisions that allow companies to challenge as illegal trade barriers any government policies that purportedly infringe on the companies’ profits. The contentious “investor-state dispute resolution” allows a corporation to sue federal, state and local governments if it believes that a law or regulation will negatively affect its bottom line. Foreign companies or investors could challenge regulatory safeguards that protect our families, our communities and our air and water at a global trade tribunal that could overturn the rule and award the investor monetary damages.
Talk about Sociopath! We would tolerate that level of Entitlement from anyone we know? Why would we tolerate it from Corporatocracy?
Jurgen Maier told the group that the German NGO was formed in 1992 after the real conference on environment and development. It was supposed to coordinate international activities of NGO’s in Germany on climate, biodiversity and other environmental issues, also on trade. In the late 1990’s WTO was a very big issue, “when the WTO got stuck trade issues were no longer fashionable”, says Junger. “That changed when the TTIP issue became prominent.
Trade agreements were protested in Columbia but not in Europe, that all quickly changed when the EU said their would be negotiations for a trade agreement with the U.S. The people realized this was like WTO reloaded. “They no longer call it WTO they call it TTIP but, it’s the same thing”, Junger told the group.
“Obama visited Berlin in June 2013 and we moved the big Trojan Horse in front of the EU Commissions representations in Berlin and that Trojan Horse, was like 12 meters high, we wrote TTIP on it and opened it was a Fracking gorilla and hormone meat. We made it on All channels of Prime time TV news and I felt, “Ok, this could fly”, Junger said.
The video for that talk can be found here, https://youtu.be/-KkEbwgt2eM
Donations are greatly Needed to bring this info to you. Link in video description.
Jurgen tells the group that in Germany information on TTIP is on public television and public radio and is strongly against it. In Germany you have on our main TV channels a lot of coverage and it’s “All Negative” .
The German Council for Culture, one of the strong organizations campaigning against TTIP, the umbrella org of all the culture org, cultural company, enterprises, artists journalists, media, est., said the General Secretary, “One of their 250 member organizations is public television, that should be very helpful for you”.
Public television is publicly owned in Germany but, not Gov controlled. “You get a very broad range of opinions”, when it comes to TTIP they have very strong reports opposing TTIP. https://youtu.be/UzsCsNuc-oE
Jurgen went on, “Don’t underestimate the power of Trade unions & churches. Jurgen was invited to speak at tone of the most prestigious churches in Berlin about TTIP. “I gave a very moderate speech”. When I was finished the priest said, “Who is serving Mammon cannot serve God”.
What is the TTIP? The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. Proponents say the agreement would result in multilateral economic growth, while critics say it would increase corporate power and make it more difficult for governments to regulate markets for public benefit.
Please see the article, 10 Reasons Why you should oppose TTP and TTIP, http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/21010-10-reasons-why-you-should-oppose-obamatrade
More info: TradeJustice New York Metro (718) 218-4523 * info@tradejustice.net
