Hundreds of thousands protest in Berlin against the TTIP, a free trade agreement – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Hundreds of thousands protest in Berlin against the TTIP, a free trade agreement




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Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Berlin today in protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The TTIP is a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that many think is anti-democratic and will lower food safety, labour and environmental standards.

Those who organised the protest were a mix of environmental groups, charities and opposition parties. It is reported that 250,000 people were taking part in the rally. The rally is said to have been trouble free according to police.  1,000 police officers were on duty at the march.

“This is the biggest protest that this country has seen for many, many years,” Christoph Bautz, director of citizens’ movement Campact told protesters in a speech..

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has been met with a huge amount of opposition in Germany in the past year. Many fear the agreement will give too much power to big multinational companies at the expense of consumers and workers. Businesses hope the trade deal will deliver over $100 billion of economic gains on both sides of the Atlantic.

“A fair and comprehensive free trade deal promotes growth and prosperity in Europe. We should actively participate in the rules for world trade of tomorrow,” Ulrich Grillo, head of the BDI Federation of German industries, said in a statement.

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