Thousands rally in Germany against EU-US trade deal

BERLIN

Around 150,000 people protested Saturday in Berlin over a planned free-trade agreement between the EU and the U.S., warning that it will lower food, environmental and social standards in Europe.

Protestors from all over Germany met in front of Berlin’s central rail station and later marched to the Victory Column, chanting slogans against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.

They held up posters reading “People before corporations,” “Stop TTIP - Yes we can,” “The name of the crisis: Capitalism,” and “TTIP is a deal of lobbies- Treason against democracy.”

More than 170 NGOs, including Greenpeace, FoodWatch and the WWF, plus large labor groups like the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) have joined the rally.

Police put the crowd at 150,000, while organizers estimated it at 250,000.

Addressing thousands of demonstrators in front of the Victory Column, DGB Chairman Reiner Hoffmann criticized the ongoing secret negotiations on TTIP between the European Commission and the U.S. representatives behind closed doors.

“Make all the doors and windows open, put an end to this secret diplomacy,” he said.

Hoffmann demanded fair world trade and argued for the preservation of strong labor rights, as well as ecological and environmental standards.

“The precautionary principle in consumer protection, health and environment protection should be preserved,” he said.

“We must continue to develop our European social model in a confident way, so that it would be recognized as a reference for a just globalization and a fair world trade,” he stressed.

The EU-U.S. free-trade deal aims at reducing regulatory barriers for multinational businesses to boost the U.S. and European economies.

Opponents say the deal will limit national sovereignty and countries’ ability to hold corporations to account while supporters say it will reduce export costs, will boost growth and employment.