Sir, – As the news came through that the Walloons had vetoed the Ceta deal between Canada and the EU, I was very disappointed at the perception of the media reports on two main fronts as it showed a serious lack of understanding of the proposed “deal”.
It had little to do with David conquering Goliath and more to do with the years of enshrining standards for food safety, workers’ conditions and environmental protection within the EU, all of which would be at best diluted and at worst discarded by the deal.
In a more cynical and sinister twist, together with its sister deal, TTIP, it would give corporations the ability to sue governments in response to regulations which may affect their profits. Dozens of such cases have gone through, or are going through a process known as the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) “courts” where many companies have already sued governments.
The claim that complaints were being made only at the last minute ignores the fact that these proposals have always been contentious and only known when the plans came out from behind the doors of the secret negotiations under which they were held.
This veto was only achieved when millions of people across the EU signed petitions against this “big business charter” as it aimed to run roughshod over the individual’s rights.
– Yours, etc,
MARK VEALE
Castlebridge,
Co Wexford.