On Monday morning there is a meter high inflatable Trojan horse in front of the Senate. Side by side, paying attention to the photographers present, dozens of activists are waving flags in front of the horse. They chant: “Vote CETA out!”
From nine in the morning until late in the evening, the Senate will debate the approval of CETA, the trade agreement between the EU and Canada. The Senate will vote the next day, Tuesday. Finally, because CETA has been partially in effect since 2017. At that time, many import tariffs on goods from the EU and Canada were dropped. The vote in the Senate seemed to end in a fiasco for the cabinet for a long time. In the House of Representatives the opposition was against, and the coalition does not have a majority in the Senate. But this weekend, the PvdA’s Senate faction decided to vote in favor on Tuesday.
Member of Parliament Ruud Koole gave three reasons: the ‘drasically changed geopolitical situation’. The sustainability chapters in the treaty and the improvements in the CETA arbitration court. And the complaint mechanism – in case the sustainability chapters are not complied with. In addition: “The treaty has been in force for five years without major problems.”
PvdA members reacted incensed: The youth organization of the PvdA called on the party by means of an open letter to vote against. Former MP Michiel Servaes on Twitter: “I don’t know what I find more painful: running when nothing has been changed in the treaty – or bringing in the war to justify it #fail”. And Tuesday in NRC Jan Pronk (former PvdA MP) and Jan Terlouw (former D66 leader) also argue against CETA.
That reaction is not surprising, the PvdA has been divided about CETA for years. In 2017, the PvdA group abstained from voting on the trade agreement in the European Parliament. Agnes Jongerius, leader of the PvdA group in the European Parliament, called CETA “no top agreement”. While it was PvdA minister Lilianne Ploumen who negotiated the treaty on behalf of Rutte II and managed to make adjustments.
Now Jongerius does not want to comment on the various considerations of the PvdA in the Senate and the House of Representatives. “We abstained from voting because we felt that improvements had to be made. We forced national parliaments to agree to CETA. It is up to parliaments to judge whether enough improvements have been made.”
In 2020, when the House of Representatives had to approve CETA, almost the entire opposition (including the PvdA) turned against the treaty. The coalition voted in favour, so the treaty was passed. Last month, the opposition in the House of Representatives made another attempt to withdraw the treaty – a motion to withdraw CETA was supported by the entire opposition. Again, also by the PvdA. Now the PvdA is helping the cabinet to gain a majority in the Senate – just before the summer, still a success for the cabinet.
Now the PvdA helps the cabinet in the Senate to a majority
The Netherlands is not the last country to ratify the treaty. The French parliament also still has to agree. The German coalition has just announced that it will vote for CETA.
Done deal
The approval by the Senate seems a done deal† And yet there are activists standing in front of the Senate. “The chance that we can change anything is small,” says Sara Murawski of Handel Anders!, the organization behind the demonstration. “But who knows: the PvdA has already been played twice… It is important to let us hear from you.”
Also read: Double feelings in PvdA about a controversial treaty
Activists from Extinction Rebellion, FNV representatives, people from Food Watch, De Goede Zaak, Party for the Animals and a few in a PvdA sweater gather on Monday. Surprising allies are the representatives of farmers’ organizations such as Agractie. “The tractors are on their way!” Murawski reported enthusiastically between the speakers. Environmental activists fear that Canadian goods will end up in the Netherlands that have been produced with less attention to animal welfare. Farmers fear that the sector will suffer from Canadian competition – especially if Dutch farmers have to adhere to the new nitrogen targets.
Others denounce the ICS (Investment Court System). This is an independent arbitration court where foreign investors can file a ‘claim’ against the state if they are unfairly disadvantaged by national law. Opponents fear that billion-dollar claims will cost taxpayers money and prevent the cabinet from enacting harsh environmental legislation. According to the cabinet, the chance that this will lead to large claims is very small.
Protesters oppose ‘neoliberalism’, of which CETA is said to be an expression. “There are thousands of technical objections, but the core is: we are against an increase in trade,” says Jesse Oberdorf of De Goede Zaak and Extinction Rebellion. “We’re not against international relations, we don’t think we should trade any more shit.”
While the promised tractors arrive in Kazernestraat, the Senate is fiercely debating the treaty.
“I find it painful to ask critical questions to Ruud Koole,” says Farah Karimi (GroenLinks), referring to the cooperation between GroenLinks and the PvdA in the Senate, before asking why Koole would not accept an “old-fashioned and polluting treaty”. want to stop.
Koole remains calm and repeats his arguments. “We also want a just world. What we differ in is the appreciation of this treaty.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 12 July 2022
#PvdA #years #divided #CETA