Another reason why Obama sends a "pressure team" to Greece
“The newly-elected government in Athens has always been suspicious of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and will use its Parliament majority to sink the EU-US trade pact, claims a former Syriza MEP now turned minister. EurActiv Greece reports. After making its voice heard in the debate over sanctions on Russia, the new government in Athens is now making its opposition known to the EU-US trade deal, TTIP.”
“Georgios Katrougkalos, a former influential Syriza MEP who quit his European Parliament seat to become deputy minister for administrative reform in the leftist Greek government, said the new leadership in Athens will use its veto to kill the proposed trade pact – at least in its current form.”
“Asked by EurActiv Greece whether the promise still holds now Syriza is in power, Katrougkalos replied: 'I can ensure you that a Parliament where Syriza holds the majority will never ratify the deal. And this will be a big gift not only to the Greek people but to all the European people'.”
“Indeed, once the pact is negotiated – a process which may still take over a year –, it will be submitted for a unanimous vote in the European Council, where each of the 28 EU national governments are represented. This means that one country can use its veto power to influence the negotiations or block the trade deal as a whole, an opportunity Syriza will no doubt use. And even if the pact makes it past this first stage, it will then be submitted to ratification by all parliaments of the 28 EU Member States, offering opponents a second opportunity to wield a veto.”
“Meanwhile, Syriza’s coalition partner, the right-wing anti-austerity Independent Greeks party, takes a similar stance against TTIP. In a statement issued on 4 November 2014, the then-opposition party said the deal will not live up to its promise of relaunching economic activity. 'It is supposed to be an agreement that will boost the real economy, but its main supporters are international bankers and lobbies,' emphasised Marina Chrysoveloni, a spokesperson for Independent Greeks. 'In simple words, the speculative capital will have even more freedom to move […] in a huge single market with eight hundred million people,' she concluded.”