Cancellation of vote on the TTIP report - a statement to The Parliament Magazine

"The postponement of the vote was a decisive mistake. The decision is an expression of the great uncertainty within the S&D, EPP, ECR and ALDE groups. They feared that a majority would have rejected the controversial ISDS mechanism today. The narrow vote (183 - 181) refusing even an open debate on TTIP sends an embarrassing signal from Parliament to the public. The democratic debate in our societies on TTIP will nevertheless continue, with support for the big business deal diminishing, to for instance merely 18 per cent in Germany according to a recent poll by Der Spiegel. TTIP is the wrong answer to the big economic questions of our time. It follows Washington's confrontational policy approach towards the rest of the world, instead of building partnerships for a common future. Our citizens perceive TTIP not only as an outward confrontation, but also to the inside. That is why they are up in arms to defend their protection systems and their democracies against TTIP, and we stand firm at their side."