Do the CETA Check!

Launch of EU-wide campaign to pressure MEPs into action

Berlin  - Today sees the launch of a new campaign entitled "Do the CETA Check!". It will enable citizens from all over the EU to contact Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and ask them to answer questions about the planned free trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA). The campaign is supported by the EU-wide Stop TTIP alliance which, together with the self-organized Stop TTIP European Citizens' Initiative, collected over three million signatures against TTIP & CETA last year.

With the "Do the CETA Check!" campaign the Stop TTIP Alliance wants to underline the urgency and increase the pressure on MEPs and governments to confront themselves with the EU-Canada agreement. The negotiated CETA agreement is to be adopted this year by the European Parliament and be provisionally applied; meaning without approval by national parliaments. According to the latest information the European Commission is planning to adopt CETA as an EU-only agreement – but with an unanimous vote the member states could prevent this.

"The Commission didn´t respond to the over three million citizens who signed our European Citizens´ Initiative. We will now address the European Parliament and the trade ministers with our concerns," says Dr Michael Efler from the Stop TTIP ECI Citizen committee.

"CETA undermines important EU standards and regulations. It includes the controversial Investment Court System. With the vote drawing nearer it is vital for EU citizens to now pressure their MEPs and their governments to make sure that they will not support a toxic agreement," explains Michel Cermak from CNCD-11.11.11 part of the Belgian StopTTIP platform.

"The lifeblood of European democracy is the dialogue between citizens and their representatives. Our online tool helps to bridge the gap between people and politicians and will facilitate a vivid and transparent public debate about CETA," concludes Daniel Feher, campaign manager at the Stop TTIP European Initiative.

The central forum for the campaign will be the  HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/" HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/" HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/"https://stop-ttip.org website

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSUC5aAtDcc

For further information please contact the Stop TTIP press team via press@stop-ttip.org, Tel. +49 30 284 823 79 or +49 178 816 30 17 (mobile).

Background:

Stop TTIP is an alliance of over 500 European organizations that have come together to stop the TTIP and CETA trade & investment agreements. The alliance believes that these agreements need to be stopped, as they pose a threat to democracy, the rule of law, labor rights, and environmental & consumer protection. For more information visit  HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/" HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/" HYPERLINK "https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/"https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations