As the European Union institutions go through the process of establishing (European Commission) and consolidating (European Parliament) new set ups and leadership – weirdly enough – the negotiations concerning the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement (TTIP) continue. This week round seven of the negotiations is taking.
At the same time the Commissioner-designate Cecilia Malmström, Sweden, has been questioned by lawmakers in the European Parliament.
Simultaneously people all over Europe rally against TTIP. In fact people around the world rally against how the EU and the USA are attempting to impose trade pacts on their terms and largely against the will of the people in affected countries. New Zealand, Thailand, the EU are all countries where huge civil society movements have formed to oppose the harmful trade pacts.
We’ve been addressing issues that relate to alcohol, alcohol harm and the negative impact that the alcohol industry has on societies through boundless trade of its harmful products. Here is an overview that gives you all the background information, details, opinions and facts you need to know concerning this topic:
1) Trade Commissioner And Alcohol Industry – Time To Re-evaluate The Relation – Sven-Olov’s blog
Independent scientific analysis shows the harmful practices of the alcohol industry, contributing to paramount levels of harm in Europe and the world. Alcohol simply is no ordinary commodity. And the alcohol industry is not an ordinary business. Commissioner De Gucht failed to take this into account…
2) Alcohol Harms Democracy – Maik’s blog
Alcohol harms democracy in many ways: it inhibits people’s capacities and potential to be active citizens and take charge of their communities and societies; it erodes the democratic mechanisms of our institutions; it disables civil society’s access to decision-making processes and democratic participation; it hijacks the public realm for commercial interests, not public interests. This is important to understand to be able to make more and better efforts to protect the rights of normal people, NGOs, and independent researchers to make democracy reality and vibrant…
3) Benefits Of EU-US Trade Pact Do Not Even Cover Costs For Alcohol Harm – Maik’s blog
This trade deal cannot even cover the costs that alcohol burdens Europe with. Just to make this clear: Over ten years the TTIP is projected to add €120 billion in additional growth. This number is being promoted as “miracle”. Over ten years, at the current rate (and the EU is doing close to nothing to prevent and reduce alcohol harm) alcohol harm will have created costs of One trillion, five hundred and sixty billion Euro…
4) Enemies Of Human Rights Are Gearing Up – Sven-Olov’s blog
The global achievements in Human Rights protection and promotion over the last 50 years, are today under attack by aggressive corporations. Abusing free trade agreements, these corporations seek to undermine Human Rights accomplishments, in order to make it harder for governments to regulate harmful products and often-unethical operations…
5) Government Of The (Alcohol) Industry, By The Industry, For The Industry – Maik’s blog
The European Commission is supposed to be independent “beyond doubt” but Trade Commissioner De Gucht has a million Euro stake in a Tuscan wine production, shining the spot light on apparent conflict of interest in the upcoming trade talks between the EU and the US, and also other countries around the world…
6) Alcohol Harm And Trade Globalization In Emerging Markets – Orratai’s blog
Thailand is facing the progressive liberalisation of its market of health-demoting commodities. We are not only witnessing adverse impacts of increasing numbers of alcohol use prevalence particularly in the young and among female. We also have to witness the high social costs of alcohol consumption in Thailand, as well as the destructive influences of the global alcohol industry on our country’s alcohol policy process – ranging from eroding legal restrictions of free trade to protect health (such as Technical Barriers to Trade) as well as the aggressive lobbying of big industry…
7) Cheers To Trade, Boundless Trade – Maik’s blog
Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco are using trade talks more and more aggressively to erode and circumvent public health policies. It is in this context that journalists must perform a better job in being a watchdog of decision-makers and the government must realise that boundless trade does not propel development and welfare but threatens and erodes it…
8) The EU A Bonanza For Big Alcohol – Kristina’s blog
We launch a map of Big Alcohol entry points for their aggressive lobbying in the European Union – see it and read it for the first time ever here.
And, we look at the question: what does it take to end this bonanza that puts profit over human rights…
9) Free Trade That Puts People Over Profits – Sven-Olov’s blog
We simply need to ensure that alcohol is not dealt with like it was an ordinary commodity. Alcohol is no ordinary commodity. And so we, together and heart driven, need to ensure that our decision-makers put people over profit and give higher consideration to Human Rights than to the interests of corporations, like Big Alcohol…
10) Public Interest Coalition Opposes Fast-Track Authority For TPP – Sven-Olov’s blog
IOGT International has joined a broad coalition of 14 public interest groups today in delivering a letter to members of United States Congress, urging U.S. lawmakers not to grant the Obama administration “fast-track” authority for trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)…
