Trojan horse erected in protest against ‘dangerous’ EU-US trade agreement

A huge Trojan horse – the infamous horse that hid thousands of Greek fighters to overthrow the city of Troy – has been erected in Valletta this morning to protest against the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), “a dangerous deal that puts the interests of big businesses before the rights of EU citizens.”

The giant inflatable Trojan horse was installed by Friends of the Earth Malta and the Front Against TTIP (Malta) during the launch of a week of activities aimed at increasing awareness about the TTIP.

The organisations said the TTIP would enable food safety rules to be amended with the aim of facilitating trade – even to the detriment of the environment and the general public.

Urging the government, political parties, and Maltese MEPs to support their call against the trade agreement, the organisations insisted that the EU-US deal contains “hidden dangers” that could be detrimental to the environment and for the general public.

The organisations said that the TTIP would set up mechanisms that will enable big businesses to sue states for compensation if any new state regulations are seen as harmful to investment and profits.

“TTIP may reduce the possibility of restricting genetically modified organisms and the use of hormones and other chemicals in factory-farmed animals. Proposed legislation will be evaluated by its merit towards increasing trade, rather than increasing quality of life or environmental protection,” said Martin Galea de Giovanni, FoE Malta Director and member of the Front.

“The Front is against setting up of alternative, ‘compromise’ mechanisms that will still give the power to big business to sue states for compensation if any new state regulations are seen as harmful to investment and profits. This will make regulatory innovation slower and less ambitious.”

The Front Against TTIP (Malta) is made up of left-wing think tank Zminijietna, Moviment Graffiti, Association of Federative Socialist, GWU Youth, Friends of the Earth Malta, Partit Komunista Malti, Garden of Knowledge (Malta), ADZ - Green Youth, Malta Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM), Greenhouse Malta, Gaia Foundation, and Alternattiva Demokratika.

The organisations called on the public to sign the petition against TTIP and CETA here.