Curious about what CETA is and why campaigners are urgently trying to stop the government from ratifying the deal?
It’s not about trade!
That part has been up and running since 2017.
It’s all about the Investment Court System (the #ICS)... (thread)
If governments pass laws that upset corporate profits (e.g., environmental regulations) the ICS will allow corporations to bypass national court systems to sue taxpayers (you) in private investor courts...
For example... the community of Rosia Montana in #Romania tried to stop an illegal gold mine from ruining their environment & displacing their residents. The Romanian courts ruled against the mine but the company, Gabriel Resources, is now suing Romania for $5.7 BILLION!
Just the threat of lawsuits for such huge sums of money can lead to ‘regulatory chill,’ where politicians don’t pass laws, or rewrite them to suit corporations. This could affect reforms in Ireland’s housing, health, environmental legislation... you name it...
Even when a country wins one of these cases, it can still take years and cost the country millions...
The Investment Court System (ICS) is a rebranded version of the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system.
The ICS is hidden away inside the CETA deal. It will only exist once all EU member countries vote for it. There are still 11 states that have a chance to block it...
... Ireland is one of those countries. No matter what issues you care about the ICS is a serious threat to any reforms...
What can you do?
Tell your TDs (whoismytd.com) you don’t want them to vote for CETA with the ICS intact.
Check your TD’s email response against this fact checker: bit.ly/cetafactcheck and join the CETA free zone campaign in your constituency: bit.ly/cetafree
If you’re interested in knowing more about the full StopCETA campaign, from where it started and how it’s going, visit climatedad.ie/post/stopceta
Two more @UpliftIRL actions you can take to #StopCETA
1. Send an email to your councillor to put forward a motion for a review on CETAs effects on the council: action.uplift.ie/campaigns/ceta…
2. Chip in to get a full page spread on CETA in the Farmers Journal: action.uplift.ie/campaigns/ceta…
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