Weblogs de Bruxelles
Canada-EU trade deal threatens public water in Canada (Meera Karunananthan, Council of Canadians, July 19, 2010)
I am here as the national water campaigner to examine impacts on public water and sanitation systems in Canada - one of the greatest threats CETA poses to the well-being and health of communities in Canada. We had two meetings with the chief negotiator for Canada who confirmed information we had obtained through leaked CETA text earlier this year that Europeans wanted access to Canadian water and sanitation services.
Trade Justice Network meets with EU politicians, trade advisors (Stuart Trew, Council of Canadians, July 16, 2010) ...On Wednesday, after meeting a newswire business journalist for coffee on Place Luxembourg, we spent the next seven hours inside the EU Parliament building, meeting with members from four of the seven political groups: the European United Left/Nordic Green Left, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, and the Greens. We had individual meetings with members of the EU trade committee, then a roundtable of sorts in the evening organized by S&D and the Greens... European Commission seeks end to GMO ban (Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians, July 15, 2010) ...The proposed “amendment would not give countries the right to ban imports of GM products or to prohibit the marketing of those seeds within their borders” and has raised the concern that “the European Commission would lean on EU member states to approve GM seeds at the bloc level…” This is significant because it is believed that Canada is seeking to have European ‘regulatory barriers’ against GMOs dropped in the CETA talks so that modified crops and hormone-treated meat from Canada can be exported to Europe... Meeting with MEP Catherine Bearder on CETA and the tar sands (Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians, July 14, 2010) We just met with Catherine Bearder, a British MEP with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (which has 85 seats in the European Parliament), who raised questions this past April about CETA and the Canadian tar sands. Obstructing the Canada-EU trade deal: As Canada and the EU sit down to hammer out the details of the CETA in Brussels, not everyone is onside (Larry Brown, NUPGE, July 14, 2004) Post originally published by The Mark Brussels is an interesting city; many beautiful areas and wonderful old buildings full of history and character, but far too many new, faceless, purely functional buildings in the mix with no consideration of the impact these new steel and glass data factories have on the charm and culture of the old city. It’s a good metaphor for free trade; the emphasis is on the function and coldness of commerce with no thought to the effect on the character and culture, the personality, of the countries in question... Briefing on the CETA talks from Canada's chief negotiator (Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians, July 14) Yesterday evening we met with Steve Verheuil, Canada’s chief negotiator on the CETA deal, along with other DFAIT staff at the hotel where the Canadian delegation is housed. Verheuil gave us an overview of the first several days of this fourth round of talks and noted that government procurement issues would need to be discussed on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Canadians meet with MEP Stephen Hughes (Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians, July 13) A Canadian delegation opposing CETA met today with Stephen Hughes, a British Member of the European Parliament and the deputy leader of the Socialist Party at the EP. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the European Public Services Union and GMB, Britain’s General Union. CETA and milk: Common sense in short supply (Stuart Trew, Council of Canadians, July 12, 2010) ...On Monday we’ve been invited by European Coordination Via Campesina to speak at a milk demo outside the European Commission. Farmers are demanding fairness in the EU dairy industry. “Milk producers need stable and fair milk prices that cover their average production costs,” says a call-out for today’s demonstration, which is expected to draw hundreds of farmers into the streets. “Consumers need stable and fair milk prices that reflect the real costs of producers, processing industry and retail. The additional amount charged by processing industry and retail has to be distributed fair and transparently among all members of the milk chain.”