Welcome to Global Europe Watch
Welcome to the Global Europe Watch website. This site has been created to bring activists across Europe together in their struggle to stop
The term ‘Global Europe’ refers to the Europe Union’s strategy to secure markets for its companies around the world. This strategy will make profit for big business at the expense of poor countries. Not only will poor countries find it more and more difficult to profit from trade as a result of these strategies, but they will also have a harmful effect in relation to development, climate change adaptation, employment rights, gender, migration and energy security.
This site gives you a portal from which to find out about campaigning activities happening now across the continent. Search by country or issue to read up on what interests you and for details of how to take action. There is currently huge momentum across
Together we can put the brakes on this push for a Global Europe.
End the Commission’s love affair with big business: Stop Europe's devastating trade deals
Submitted by admin on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 12:21
In recent years, DG Trade has been getting rather cosy with big business.
Business lobbyists hop in and out of officials’ offices.
BusinessEurope seems to have become DG Trade’s favoured partner, intimately liaising over their joint push for the Global Europe strategy on international trade.
Now their relationship is about to reach new intensity. On October 28, 2008 BusinessEurope is moving in with DG Trade – just for the day – to hold a conference on Global Europe. Needless to say their closest friends from the Commission will be there too.
Now there’s nothing wrong with close relationships – or at least there wouldn’t be, if crucial policies severely affecting the world’s poorest and the environment weren’t at stake.
If the sweet murmurs of big business are listened to, the EU risks pushing millions of people further into poverty. A continued push to break open new markets and secure even greater access to raw materials would endanger local economies and essential services as well as accelerate environmental destruction.
Now that a new Trade Commissioner will take over, the time has come to end the Commission’s love affair with big business. We urge the Commission to:
- carry out an immediate assessment of interest groups’ influence on the development and implementation of the Global Europe strategy;
- stop ongoing negotiations for trade deals with Africa, Asia and Latin America;
- commit before October 2009 to undertake a full-scale rethink of EU trade policy to ensure it prioritises development, environmental sustainability and human (particularly women’s) rights;
- open up European trade policy processes to democratic accountability and scrutiny by parliamentarians and civil society.
Take action and email Commission President Barosso
Find out more
A new report from Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) Global Europe - open doors (pdf) reveals the close involvement of the European employers' federation, BusinessEurope, in drawing up the Global Europe trade strategy.
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has also written an open letter to Commission President Barroso to urge him to end the privileged access and big business capture of EU trade policy.
Welcome to Global Europe Watch
Submitted by admin on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 17:55Watch this space for all the latest news and press releases from Global Europe Watch.
