While we have been so focused on Greece the 10th round of TTIP talks are under way with the European Commission . They are taking place in Brussells from the 13-17 July.
The Greek crisis has served to bring into full awareness that the EU institutions are completely undemocratic and have no respect for democracy. They bend only to the will of kleptocratic corporatists. The EU Commission, of all the institutions, is the most undemocratic and least trustworthy. On this politburo sits Ireland’s Phil Hogan who is the current commissioner for agriculture. Phil has a knack for finding himself mired in controversy. His latest cock-up is the hated Irish Water which has brought hundreds of thousands of Irish people protesting onto the streets. With un-minuted meetings during the set up and oligarch cronies getting nice gigs out of it, the whole thing is branded a debacle. It continues to lurch from one controversy to another. Having become the most derided minister in the Irish cabinet, during the last reshuffle, he was sacked as environment minister and exported to the commission where one can only assume he is wreaking more havoc. I certainly would not trust him. Currently he is negotiating on behalf of us European citizens’ agricultural interests in TTIP. (May the Goddess/God help us all!)
TTIP Agenda
1)Issues related to manufacturing including regulatory coherence, technical barriers to trade (TBT), specific sectors, energy and raw materials
2)Issues related to agriculture including agricultural market access, related regulatory issues and 3)Geographical Indications
4)Issues related to services, investment and public procurement
5)Issues related to rules – sustainable development, customs and trade facilitation, competition & state-owned enterprises (SOEs), intellectual property rights, small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
TTIP Stakeholder events Round 10, Brussels
Gene Kerrigan: One hundred reasons to dislike Big Phil
The Minister for Threatening Citizens will soon be knocking at your door
The Irish Water debacle: why the State is heading towards being ungovernable
Opinion: The public revolt against water charges is about injustice, and it’s justified
No record kept of 2012 Irish Water meetings between minister and Bord Gáis
Denis O’Brien, Fine Gael And The Water Meter Deal