Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I propose to share time with Deputies Clare Daly, Catherine Murphy and Boyd Barrett.

That departing Taoiseach spoke in glowing terms about TTIP, calling it an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement. Recently, a legal document from the regulatory co-operation chapter of the agreement was leaked, which makes the Taoiseach's statement seem naive or willfully deceptive. The leaked document clearly outlines how TTIP is being used to undermine democracy by putting the concerns of corporations before the interests of the people Governments are supposed to be serving. Business Europe and the US Chamber of Commerce, as far back as 2012, have been lobbying for the regulatory co-operation mechanism. They want to establish a private forum that will come into being after TTIP has been implemented, where any legislation or regulations proposed by any EU member state that affects their profits can be brought to their attention before the legislation or regulation comes into effect. To quote Corporate Europe Observatory "This means businesses, for instance, at an early stage, can try to block rules intended to prevent the food industry from marketing foodstuffs with toxic substances, laws trying to keep energy companies from destroying the climate, or regulations to combat pollution and protect consumers."

On top of this, laws and regulations that affect trade will have to pass an impact assessment. If it is found that the interests of corporations are infringed in any way, a report by the proposed regulatory co-operation body will cite a detrimental impact on transatlantic trade. The new rules also outline how a regulatory exchange must take place if a party requests it on the basis that planned or existing regulatory acts of member states are likely to have an impact on trade and investment. When it was pointed out by the director of trade policy today that the leaked document has yet to be finalised, striking articles are contained in the chapter as it stands and they pose grave questions about the value of democracy in the western hemisphere.

In another attack on democracy coming from the EU, which is repeatedly and publicly supported by this Government, Greece is denied the autonomy of a breathing space to construct an alternative to destructive austerity. Any economist worth his salt and not in the pay of the financial sector knows that austerity only serves the short-term interests of the elite and furthers the gap between rich and poor, which serves no one in the long term. The newly elected Greek Government was given a clear mandate by the public to find an alternative to austerity. Syriza is trying to place the will of the people before the interests of the elites and the banks and is paying a high price for it. The rules of engagement in the eurozone are rigid and the masters in Berlin and Brussels allow little space to negotiate a path between the extremes of austerity or euro exit. The Greeks are looking at a situation where they must choose between denying the democratic mandate and breaking all their promises by submitting to the demands of the unelected yet most powerful institutions in Europe or staying true to the ideals of democracy as best they can in negotiating the turbulent waters of an exit from the eurozone. What is frightening is the manner in which the Brussels group, the troika and Germany have behaved. They show little or no mercy and no compromise. The brutality of the response to Greek demands illustrates that the EU no longer has an interest in democracy. Whenever there is an election and whoever gets elected and whatever they promise their people, they must subordinate everything to uphold the logic of the markets as dictated by the only true sovereign these days, which resides in Frankfurt, Brussels and Berlin. God be with the days when Europe was a place where all nations were treated fairly.

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