Today, Irish Green Party are to discuss the topic "CETA, ISDS & the Greening of Trade Agreements". It's an important topic because lets be clear - there is a need to "Green" trade & the only thing green about CETA is those green enough to support it. Some thoughts:

A long thread isn't ideal 4 something as complex as this, no more than a 55 minute debate Government proposed when they tried to bury this matter & slip it by just b4 Christmas. But some points u to consider incl facts based on the actual text of CETA & on why to say NO to CETA

Don't get me wrong I'm not against trade it's crucial to Ireland's small open economy. But I am opposed to trade at any price.We can & must do better. That's normally what the Greens stand for isn't it & why they've campaigned to #BuildBackBetter for realisation of a #GreenDeal ?

So why would you support this dinosaur deal negotiated by an outdated unsustainable trade policy with some well-dodgy green sticking plasters - just as the EU revisits its trade policy in the context of the #EuropeanGreenDeal #EGD ? #SDGs

CETA's trade & #sustainability chapters are so weak & wooley you could knit a jumper from them, and they are bolted on to the deal rather than providing for integration of sustainability across it's approach to promote sustainable trade & deterring unsustainable trade patterns

So what about the #ParisAgreement & CETA and the further recommendation of the CETA joint Committee on it In summary it's a & green candy floss. See for yourself: https://tinyurl.com/y5zuloke  You don't need to be a lawyer to see it's NOT worth the paper it's written on and ...

If you doubt yourself - do you really think the previous Irish Government would have supported the EU signing and risking serious sanctions on #CETA trade if Paris & climate targets weren't complied ... with the potential for Ireland to be amongst the first in the firing line?

But turning then to the really controversial aspects of CETA the investor protection provisions - referred to for short as #ISDS or #ICS - these are the provisions which allow companies sue Governments, and it is this part of the agreement that the Dáil vote is really about.

Yes it's true the EU Court of Justice said these provisions are compatible with the EU Treaties. But it also said because of their impact the Parliaments of Member States have to decide to say yes OR no to them. It also doesn't mean there is nothing to worry about when we decide

So the EU can't finalise CETA without all Member States agreeing, but in the meantime most of the rest of the agreement has come into effect.The decisions of Member States have been fraught, less than half have agreed & controversy still rages around these provisions. Infact ...

the EU left investor state protection out of recent deals eg EU Japan deal & the recent Brexit deal. So it is NOT the end of the world if we say no to them in #CETA & on the plus side it could trigger a rethink about how the EU does its trade with positive effect for & peoples

There's huge interest in Ireland's decision as unlike rest of EU we've not signed up to these type of provisions in other deals except under #EnergyCharterTreaty #ECT Yet we've been able to attract really high levels of Foreign Direct Investment, FDI without conceding to them

This is because when Investors do their due diligence - they are happy to rely on the Irish Court system. So it is not necessary for us to attract inward investment - we've broken the mould! However ...

the downside of our high #FDI is that if we do sign up to #CETA we stand exposed to the risk of claims which can run to billions in these specialised tribunals which don't operate in the same way as our courts. Even more worrying however is...

The risk that Government's won't regulate progressively for fear of being sued - known as "regulatory chill". That arises when there is uncertainty about the risk of a claim some of which can run to € billions. This remains a real concern under #CETA for the following reasons:

It is true the EU Court of Justice #CJEU confirmed the right to regulate under #CETA incl on environment & public health. But that right is NOT absolute. Ireland can be sued if we breach the rules in CETA incl on fair & equitable treatment set out in Art 8.10 ... the scary bit

..The REALLY scary bit about Art 8.10 or one of them ...is how the list of what constitutes unfair or inequitable treatment can be extended - and the lack of control over that ..yep so there's a blank page(s) 4 the list.If it was up to you would u sign a contract with blank pgs?

Check it out for yourself the blank pages clauses are there in CETA in plain English in black white ... https://tinyurl.com/y5r5b6ew  and what constitutes unfair and inquitable treatment can be added to ...

How claims will be decided remains a concern. It's true the some reforms were made to get the deal over the line at EU level - But as for #ISDS you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig & putting "court" in the name doesn't make it a court like u & I understand courts

There's still insufficient safeguards to ensure real independence in the panel of arbitrators who: can go off to work for big corporations after their term; are only employed part-time to start with & the lack of clarity on many aspects of the system #ICS so its a bad #PigInAPoke

So what about getting out of #CETA if it goes pear shaped? Don't breathe out too fast as that's where #TheZombieClause comes in which allows investors still sue you for 20 years even after you have had the sense to run away! Check it out: Art 30.9.2 https://tinyurl.com/yybmav3m 

On the risk of regulatory chill: It's true the CJEU said there is nothing in CETA to "PREVENT" the Commmission upholding EU law but think about the real world & examples u already know about how Ireland's awful our approach to EU environmental law is and then put CETA on top ...

Today we face fines of over €11.5 million for failing to comply with a 2019 judgement c-261/18 of CJEU on #DerrybrienWindfarm which was on a case for failure to comply with a judgment 11 yrs earlier c-215/06 about failure to comply with EU law.Yep! We delay to suit developers..

We delay or rush laws to suit big lobby interests. Put on top of that the spectre of uncertainty the threats, the risk of claims.Who do U think Government will be more worried about: the Commission or Corporate lawyers who bend their mind to exploiting angles & greyness in #CETA?

Think of the mindset of some who seeking to sue Governments 4 the impact on their profits from measures to limit Covid. #GreyIsALawyersFavouriteColour. It's where they make their money in legal disputes. Why expose us to risk of loopholes & grey in #CETA? Please #SayNoToCETA