US Ambassador Froman and EU Commissioner Malmström discusses TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Joint Statement on Public Services
Brussels, 20 March 2015


US Ambassador Froman and EU Commissioner Malmström discussed the important role public services play in the United States and the European Union.

They confirmed that U.S. and EU trade agreements do not prevent governments, at any level, from providing or supporting services in areas such as water, education, health, and social services.

Furthermore, no EU or U.S. trade agreement requires governments to privatize any service, or prevents governments from expanding the range of services they supply to the public. 

Moreover, these agreements do not prevent governments from providing public services previously supplied by private service suppliers; contracting a public service to private providers does not mean that it becomes irreversibly part of the commercial sector.


Ambassador Froman and Commissioner Malmström also noted the important complementary role of the private sector in these areas. Private sector activities can improve the availability and diversity of services, to the benefit of people in the United States and the European Union. 

Defining the appropriate balance between public and private services is up to the discretion of each government.


Finally, Ambassador Froman and Commissioner Malmström also confirmed that EU and US trade agreements do not impede governments’ ability to adopt or maintain regulations to ensure the high quality of services and to protect important public interest objectives, such as the protection of health, safety, or the environment.


The United States and the European Union are following this same approach in TTIP and TiSA.
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Kommentar:


Dette høres jo betryggende ut,men kun hvis det inkluderes i den endelige avtalen! Ellers er det bare villedende snakk mens de hemmelige avtalene underskrives. Husk hva FRP lovet i valgkampanjen.  Hvor mye ble utført?

Det nevnes intet om ARBEIDSLOVEN og streikerett når det er nødvendig.

Vi må også få bort TTIP´s uavhengige,private lovrett ISDS ved evt. twister. Dette må avgjøres mellom landenes eksisterende domstoler med fullt innsyn.

TTIP’s biggest threat to society is its inherent assault on democracy. One of the main aims of TTIP is the introduction of Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS), which allow companies to sue governments if those governments’ policies cause a loss of profits. In effect it means unelected transnational corporations can dictate the policies of democratically elected governments.



Her må vi følge med i svingene!



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