Today the international trade committee in the European Parliament voted on its priorities for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the United States. Led by the Group of the Socialists and Democrats, the committee voted in favour of including strong protection of labour and environmental rules, as well as the use of public courts instead of any investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.
 
The author of the parliamentary report and chairman of the international trade committee, Bernd Lange said:
 
"This resolution is the beginning of the end for ISDS, a development which is long overdue.
 
"We have pushed very hard for this resolution to come to life, to send the strong message that the S&D Group and the European Parliament as a whole will not simply accept any deal they are presented with. On the contrary, we have clear cut demands and red lines when it comes to the content of the agreement which are laid out in this resolution."
 
S&D spokesperson on trade, David Martin MEP said:
 
"Today we have sent a clear message that ISDS is not needed in TTIP; that the ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards is important; and the full exclusion of public services is paramount.
 
"We are making it clear to the Commission that setting high and binding standards and bringing an end to secret investor tribunals are essential elements of any EU-US trade agreement. The Socialist and Democrats are unequivocal on these issues and will continue to press for a progressive trade deal with strong social protections.  This is within reach if the European Commission is prepared to take our concerns seriously."

MEPs involved
Member
Germany