Controversial TTIP Deal Is So Secret That EU Politicians Can Only Read It In A Secret Room
The controversial set of trade regulations known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has been shrouded in secrecy since the deal was first reported.Now news has come from Brussels indicating that the proponents of this bill are working even harder to make sure that the contents of the deal don’t reach the public.
It was reported by The Independent this week that The European Commission has banned politicians from even reading the bill for themselves unless they are in a special secure “reading room” located in Brussels. The new security measures are in response to recent leaks of details within the proposed laws, which instigated further criticism and controversy for the TTIP.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström admitted this week that “important vulnerabilities in the last rounds of negotiations,” have created complications for the interests who are attempting to push these policies through.
German politician Norbert Lammert spoke out against the secrecy in a recent interview with Correct!v, saying that, “I do not agree with this decision. Confidentiality is also possible transmission by electronic means.”
Robert Smith of NPR’s Planet Money explained how tight security was surrounding these deals in the US.
“In Washington DC they love secrecy, but even by Washington standards this amazed me.In the basement of the US capitol, there is a room, a locked soundproof room, and the only people allowed in this room are US senators, and they can’t bring their assistants, they can’t bring their phones, they can’t even take notes in there. Inside this room is not the codes for our nuclear weapons, it’s not CIA files, it’s not the documents that tell us an alien landed in Roswell. No, in this room is the text of a trade deal,” Smith said.
If the contents of the deal are such a secret, then it seems obvious that these policies would be largely rejected by the general public. If these were policies that were actually beneficial for society, they would be brought out in the light of day and accepted with open arms.
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
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