"Global Europe" Policy Backgrounder to CETA [Fact Sheet]
By Janet M Eaton, SCC, for the Trade Justice network, April 2010
http://www.tradejustice.ca/Global-
1. What is the Global Europe Strategy ?
Global Europe, launched in 2006 , was a new doctrine for the EU´s
external economic policies centred around the imperative for
competitiveness and a trade policy focused on an aggressive free
trade agenda of bi-lateral and regional FTAs. Other elements of
Global Europe include Market Access Partnerships (MAP) designed to
tackle barriers to EU exports and open new markets , and the Raw
Materials Initiative (RMI) a policy to gain unlimited access to raw
materials all over the world without market distortions and at an
affordable price. The other side of the coin is the EU-internal
agenda, which will push through de-regulation and liberalization
measures within the EU.
2. How does the Global Europe Strategy help dispel the belief of many
Canadians that a trade agreement with Europe will be beneficial
because of stronger environment and social polices in the EU?
Just as Canada´s aggressive free trade agenda is extending de-
regulation and privatization down to the provinces with the recent
manipulations of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and a new
genre of Trade, Investment, and Labour Mobility Agreements (TILMA) so
does the Global Europe strategy have an EU-internal agenda that
threatens to undermine the most progressive aspects of the European
social model, to the long-term disadvantage of workers, other
citizens, and social and environmental policies of the EU. Global
Europe reinforces what the Commission refers to as "better
regulation", which demands that every new EU regulation - including
environmental and social rules - be subjected to an impact assessment
that looks at their effect on the international competitiveness of
European business. This makes it more difficult to adopt
environmental or social regulation. According to Global Europe the EU
should also first look at what other "main competitors"
US, are doing, before introducing new regulations in order to create
"regulatory convergence.
3.Why must we reject this approach to global economic recovery?
The Global Europe strategy like the Harper government economic and
free trade agenda fails to adequately address the need for jobs,
decent work, and sustainable development while unleashing a frenzy of
bi-lateral and regional trade agreements more aggressive than before
even though it is this dominant economic model that is acknowledged
to be exacerbating ecosystem collapse, climate change, peak oil,
global poverty, a global food crisis, a global financial crisis and
recession and the breakdown of planetary cycles essential for the
survival of life on the planet. It is time to challenge the old model
and seek alternatives to corporate led economic globalization.
4. Why we must reject CETA as part of this strategy
The EU and Canada are pushing for initiatives which further the
excesses of corporate globalization and investor rights as can be
seen in the following demands and intentions for this agreement.
o Pushing for NAFTA investor state mechanism which Europe did not
have previously under its WTO oriented trade deals
o Opening up provincial and municipal governments to privatization of
public services ; Ensuring the adherence of provincial governments to
any agreement that may emerge.
o Canada´s large international investors have stated their
willingness for the Canadian government to give up the existing
protection for government procurement in exchange for preferential
access to the EU market.
o Pushing for diminished regulations (Canada and Europe)
o The EU is very open about its goal for public services such as
transport, energy, postal services, telecommunications and water and
pushing for easier access to natural resources
o Both Canada and the EU seek to lock provincial governments into a
policy framework that favours de-regulation and privatization
REFERENCES
Global Europe: Competing in the World. Ex. Summary & Full Report
http://trade.
(external link) summary http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/
(external link)
War on Want. April 2008. Global Europe: the European Union´s double
attack on developing countries and the European social model.
http://www.waronwan
attack.pdf (external link)
Corporate Europe Observatory, October 2008 GLOBAL EUROPE: AN OPEN
DOOR POLICY FOR BIG BUSINESS LOBBYISTS AT DG TRADE
http://archive.
(external link) Friends of the Earth International . Dec 2008. Global
Europe: They tyranny of `free trade´ the uropean Way. December 2008,
issue 116 http://archive.
OpenDoors.pdf (external link)
Caroline Lucas, Green MEP talks about alternatives to the current
trade model http://www.caroline
watch-trade-
http://www.youtube.
For further references on CETA see
CETA Timeline and Context Canada - EU Comprehensive Economic & Trade
Agreement By Janet Eaton, Trade Justice Network, April 2010
http://www.tradejus
For further references on CETA see next e-mail or go to
http://www.tradejus
------------
Janet M Eaton, Trade and Environment Campaigner,
Sierra Club Canada, and rep on Trade Justice Network
"Global Europe" Policy Backgrounder To CETA
Posted on Friday, April 23 at 09:28 by Janet M EatonContributed By
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...we have nothing of value to offer, except raw materials. We have, under a succession of Liberal (and now Conservative) governments, succeeded in de-industrializing Canada in large part. Any pretense at industrialization has been as that of the "branch plant" economy.
Consequently, we have nothing to trade, except as the proverbial "hewers of wood, drawers of water". Should we end up with a government that does not want to hurry us down this road to entropy, any trade agreement with any country should have an exclusion clause when it comes to natural resources. Then we'll see how eager the world is to deal with Canada.