Welcome to this hands-on guide to campaigning in Europe against trade deals such as CETA and TTIP. Its aim is to support you as a national or local campaigner, by helping you to sharpen your arguments and inspiring you to turn your knowledge into action. The guide is divided into two parts.
[AG_uppercase]PART1 [/AG_uppercase]looks at how to build an advocacy campaign that will influence political agendas. It focuses particularly on lobbying: when to lobby and whom; why it might make sense to coordinate your lobby activities with others; and how to sustain your campaign over time.
[AG_uppercase]PART2 [/AG_uppercase]will help you sharpen your arguments. It provides key talking points on two hotly debated topics: the infamous ISDS mechanism in all its forms, and the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA). These two topics will be at the heart of the trade debate in all EU member states in 2016 and we want you to feel prepared. TTIP as such will not be addressed in Part 2, but many of the arguments developed here will also help you handle debates about TTIP too.
[AG_uppercase]NOTE [/AG_uppercase]The agreements being negotiated between the EU and Canada (CETA) and the EU and the United States (TTIP) will have important implications for how investment agreements look in the future. Negotiators are clear that they intend to replicate what is agreed in bilateral negotiations with countries across the world, including in the global south, as well as it being a template for any future global agreement. So those concerned about investment that fosters sustainable development need to engage with CETA and TTIP as well as a range of other FTAs. That is why the BITs in pieces project has developed two advocacy guides, one for European campaigners focusing more on CETA and TTIP and one for activists in Africa looking at the important agreements for that continent.
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Advocacy is one way of transforming one’s anger at these toxic trade deals into political power. Advocacy tools can include: going out onto the streets to protest, emailing, letter writing, and lobbying influential people in order to achieve specific goals.
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Part 2 of this guide seeks to sharpen your arguments and is structured as a training session. It also seeks to debunk some classic free trade myths by providing key talking points on two hotly debated topics: the infamous ISDS mechanism in all its forms, and the EU-Canada trade agreement, CETA. You are likely to have to debate these issues at some point in your advocacy work.While this training does not provide detailed answers to the arguments you will encounter, it offers tips and key talking points for dealing with common claims. Further links are provided to more in-depth information to help you build your expertise to whatever level you wish.
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Part B: Let’s talk about Canada
2016 will bring the EU-Canada agreement, CETA, back on stage. This is the project which Canadian and EU representatives proudly presented to the public in September 2014. Since then, it has become more important than ever to include CETA in our arguments and actions, along with the controversial and widespread debate in Europe and the US on TTIP.
Although CETA would create a far smaller market than the one that will be created through TTIP, it is a comprehensive and aggressive trade and investment agreement nevertheless. Indeed, CETA has been labelled a blueprint of TTIP.
Modern trade agreements are no longer primarily focused on tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade products but encompass whole areas of economic and political regulations and market access, not only for products but also for services and investments. Investment protection, government procurement, public services, harmonisation of standards, regulatory cooperation, and the agricultural sector are all aspects we will touch on in this guide.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the myths about CETA.
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[AG_footnote]
This publication was made possible through European Commission funding to the project: “Making EU Investment Policy work for Sustainable Development”. The EC can not be held responsible for the content of this publication.[/AG_footnote]
Please feel free to put the Action Guide on your own website. Just copy the code beneath into your website. If you have any further questions, please contact lucile[at]s2bnetwork[dot].
