Mr Schulz is thinking here that perhaps him and his colleagues are practically voting for the opposite of what they are said they are voting for. But now it is too late…
Martin schulz is the European Parliament President, here at the Plenary session of week 3 2015 in Strasbourg (EP Audiovisual Services, 13/01/2015)
Yesterday in Strasbourg the Parliament, allegedly, took a decisive stance against GMOs in Europe after so many years of letting the matter linger. Almost all European media came out to congratulate the vote that gives the right to the local governments of the member states to “opt-out” and be able to ban “locally” GMO production even if the EU had previously centrally accepted them. This initially sounded like 2015 would be the year to build big walls and not let one GMO crop enter the Old Continent.
Thanks to this “fantastic” vote even the most ignorant citizen of the teeny-tiny Lithuania, the member state that Eurozone owes its hope for revival in 2015 since its entry, would be able to feel happy for not having genetically modified corn on his plate. Done, once and for all! Kaput! No GMOs, no GMOs ever in Europe again. A perpetuating sigh of relief created smog in the European sky yesterday showing that people once and for all are able to sleep GMO stress fee.
Eureka moment
“Wait a minute folks”, someone says, after a Eureka moment in between some beer clinging. This is the most rare opt-out coming from the first European Parliament assembly of the new year. Something smells fishy in the III river canals of Strasbourg. If one sleeps on it, our good 751 representatives did the opposite of what we think they voted for and, for what is worse, media coverage about the smelly fish of Strasbourg was below zero. So nobody will ever notice, it was thought…
As our aim is to make many people see clearly the sharp teeth of the huge trojan horse of Strasbourg, what basically happened in Strasbourg on Tuesday is that the gates of GMOs opened widely. Why? Because, first 1+1=2 and also giving “the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)” means also that we give the possibility to the Member States to accept the cultivation of GMOs. Or at least we open the window for teenage mutant ninja turtles to enter.
Only that the invaders will not be mutant turtles, at least not in the beginning, but huge companies like Monsanto, BASF, Bayer AG, Syngenta AG. By the way those guys have been queuing to enter the “EU club” for 10 years now, filing some 20 applications to bring GMO “stuff” home. Now after the Parliament’s vote it seems that there will somehow make it.
Growing London leaves
That this was coming we knew. The Sting has written many times about the “covert” game in Brussels and beyond to bring GMOs on our European plates asap. So, our reader also knew. What we could never imagine though is to see the launch of a “stealth” operation with the Parliament’s consensus, in order to keep the huge breakthrough vote below the radar. The media that covered yesterday’s vote played their good part in that.
But usually when someone is too happy he is unable to hide it. While most big news outlets were describing how good it is that now the member states of the EU will be able to restrict or block independently GMOs, the British citizen was now reading the truth. British mainstream media, call them Eurosceptic or anything else, they really cannot hide the good stuff away. The title of the Telegraph, one of the most keen Tory supporters, says it all in a few words: “Genetically modified crops could be planted in England this year”. Ta-Dah! Not only UK can now be more flexible with its stance towards GMOs, following Strasbourg’s “miracle”, but some can see the leaves growing already in the fields of Scotland.
Note here that UK is one of the major supporters of GMOs in Europe. The Telegraph is just opening the appetite of the conservative electorate for modified beans on its soup and most of all for business. Speaking about business, the reason why Europe is struggling to open GMOs’ pandora box is pure business. Particularly business with the US which has been altogether framed with, the ugly for some, word TTIP.
Feel the rush
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the trade deal between the EU and the US that is estimated to become the biggest trade business in the world is currently set on fire. There have been seven negotiation rounds so far either in Brussels or Washington, while criticism over the alleged “hidden agenda” of the meetings is fierce. Moreover, the new trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is seeing a fresh start with her arrival in Washington because it was coupled with a “surprisingly” big lunch offered to her. She also commits that she will bring absolute clearness to the negotiations and openness to the public opinion and media.
There is no doubt that since November Juncker’s Commission is running on a fast paced TTIP race. 2016 will be the year of the US Presidential Elections and nobody will care enough to put TTIP in his electorate campaign. The reason is because it sounds like “cue tip” to the American voter. So the time is now and everybody in Brussels knows it and pulls up his sleeves. “The aim is still 2015” Juncker said before the end of 2014 and he is really pulling ears in Brussels. GMOs’ are indeed one of the most thorny issues under discussion, for which the EU citizen is too sensitive. Millions sign Stop TTIP petitions, Green organisations have anti-TTIP campaigns, people protest etc.
TTIP Express
In this story the reader would need to combine three dates: 12 January 2015 the first EP assembly of the new year, 13 January 2015 the vote for the “opt-out” and right after that in February 2015 the 8th round of TTIP talks is expected to happen. It is like we flipped the continent upside down to bring something valuable (yesterday’s vote) to our American friends at February’s negotiation table. This is not rush; this is violence. What’s the rush gentlemen?
TTIP is so huge that cannot happen in the speed of light. Otherwise it will not be done properly. That it will be of huge importance for Europe, the US and the globe is clear. That Europe would benefit from that is also clear. What is not clear, is why we need to swallow the mutant maize fruit with the leaves in one second?
Let’s eat as much we can afford. And first of all, inform properly the European citizen if he should even try. There is such an ambiguous scientific debate on the food chain and health repercussions of GMOs that we do not even know what to believe.
Not concluding TTIP in 2015 should not be considered as a failure. But concluding it violently will surely be a massive one.
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