Civil society groups call for an immediate halt to the India-EU trade negotiations
We, signatories to this letter, are deeply concerned that the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) will fuel poverty, inequality and environmental destruction, and call for an immediate halt to the trade talks.
On 10 December 2010, the EU-India summit will take place in Brussels. It is supposed to give a political push to the negotiations, which are expected to be concluded in early 2011. The time to act is now. So far, negotiators on both sides of the talks have persistently ignored and sidelined analyses and protests by civil society, pointing out the detrimental impacts of the proposed FTA on people’s livelihoods and on the lack of social, ecological or gender- just economic development. Instead, the negotiating agenda generally reflects big business interests and demands.
On 10 December 2010, the EU-India summit will take place in Brussels. It is supposed to give a political push to the negotiations, which are expected to be concluded in early 2011. The time to act is now. So far, negotiators on both sides of the talks have persistently ignored and sidelined analyses and protests by civil society, pointing out the detrimental impacts of the proposed FTA on people’s livelihoods and on the lack of social, ecological or gender- just economic development. Instead, the negotiating agenda generally reflects big business interests and demands.