Description
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), presently negotiated between the USA/EU, significantly limits possibilities of national parliaments to promote the public interest in a number of areas (environment, consumer protection, social rights, etc.) Negotiations are not transparent, they are influenced by corporate lobbying and lack democratic control. In the Czech Republic public debate on this essential agreement was rather marginal. The project is comprised of media campaigns, workshops for general public and decision makers, analysis of the agreement drafts and many other activities. The aims of the project is to create information campaign about the negotiation of TTIP for general public, coordinate an active platform of the NGO´s and other stakeholders, which will, with the support of general public, persuade representatives in the EP and the Council to reject the TTIP or its most problematic parts, such as Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).
Summary of project results
In the Czech Republic there is little level of awareness about the possible consequences of TTIP - such as the Investor - State dispute settlement or entirely new mechanisms of „regulatory cooperation". The aim of the project was to open public and fair debate about the many implications of TTIP and the content of the negotiation process. We managed to build a community of people interested in the topic, who are not just active on social media. Their number is slightly bigger than half of what was planned, but the activity and engagement of members again exceeds plans. This manifests itself in a range of social networks and the number of potential voluntary assistance campaign - more than 140. The organization managed to establish itself in some media as a credible expert source of information on TTIP, and is still addressed. The campaign continues to run thanks to volunteers and also manages to provide the analytical and expert section. An information-rich site also persists with all the texts issued under the project (analytical and explanatory overview of the Council's position decision-makers, links to many sources etc.) and communication on social media. We managed to spread awareness about the importance of TTIP and issues necessary to good debate and decision amongst engaged and thoughtful minority citizens. During implementation, we worked with more than 30 organizations - from non-profit organizations of various types, through small and medium enterprises, to the faculty of universities in various forms (joint petition, supporting fundraisers, co-debates, campaigns social media, etc.). The base for the platform was long-term cooperation with five non-profit organizations primarily in the form of coordination of their actions and co-organized by selected public events.
Summary of bilateral results