Dutch vote threatens Canada trade deal

BELGIUM: Dutch campaigners are threatening to scupper the European Union’s landmark trade deal with Canada by forcing a referendum on the issue.

Direct democracy activists have collected two thirds of the 300,000 signatures required to give them a chance of scuppering the EUCanada trade pact that is regarded with widespread suspicion in Europe and the Netherlands.

The latest manifestation of public mistrust will almost certainly trigger a vote in early 2018, meaning that the EU faces 18 months of political tests, starting with Italy’s constitutional referendum next month and followed by elections next year in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The EU’s comprehensive economic and trade agreement (Ceta), was provisionally signed nine days ago in Brussels after seven years of talks and last-minute chaos when Wallonia, a region of Belgium, used a federal veto to stop ratification.

"The EU has big problems in terms of democracy and it should be reformed. We are confident we will get the referendum." Arjen Nijeboer, Meer Democratie, or More Democracy, campaigner

The Canada trade deal needs the approval of every national parliament in the EU - and some regional assemblies.

The deal now faces a possible plebiscite, with activists arguing that it erodes democratic accountability and empowers big business.

‘‘It is fundamentally about democracy not the EU,’’ Arjen Nijeboer, one of the campaign’s organisers at Meer Democratie, or More Democracy, said. ‘‘The EU has big problems in terms of democracy and it should be reformed. We are confident we will get the referendum.’’

The Dutch campaign has the support of Friends of the Earth, the academic Transnational Institute and Foodwatch, a consumer watchdog, as well as backing from leftwing and Eurosceptic parties and groups.

The European Commission says Ceta will eliminate 99 per cent of tariffs on goods traded between Canada and the single market as well as allowing for more cooperation on agreeing regulations, in a deal worth €12 billion (NZ$18b) a year.

Despite the benefits, the pact has been criticised across Europe for creating a special investment tribunal with the power to override national governments in disputes with corporations.

Environmentalists and food quality campaigners fear a race to the bottom as trade with Canada, to be followed by a looming deal with America, leads to lower consumer and environment protection standards.

‘‘We are especially worried about the special arbitration courts. They give special access to the law for corporations that other people, citizens, don’t have,’’ Nijeboer said.

‘‘It means we must accept Canadian regulations in Europe and give up sovereignty over our own standards.

‘‘Regulatory co-operation means there will be new transatlantic entities that have the power to expand Ceta with very little interference from parliaments.’’

Campaigners are using a Dutch law that requires the government to hold a referendum on decisions taken by the country’s parliament if 300,000 signatures are gathered online.

In April, Dutch voters rejected an EU-Ukraine co-operation pact in a popular vote under the same law, creating a problem that the country’s government has yet to resolve.

The pact was rejected by 61.1 per cent of voters, despite the Yes campaign being backed by all mainstream Dutch political parties.

The turnout was low, at 32.2 per cent, but above a 30 per cent threshold making the referendum valid under the Dutch constitution.

- The Times