25.02.2015 policy

Commissioner Malmström answers to EAEA’s concerns on TTIP

After hearing rumors suggesting that adult education would be part of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), EAEA wrote to Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström last November, to ask for her support in excluding adult education from TTIP. EAEA believes that adult education is a public good and that it should not be part of any trade agreement.

In her letter, Commissioner Malmström underlines that “the Commission is fully aware of the sensitivity of the education sector and will therefore continue to provide the necessary protection for the sector”. Concerning the investor-state-dispute-settlement (ISDS) in TTIP, the Commissioner highlighted that “neither the European Commission, nor EU Member States or the European Parliament would consider an agreement that would lower our standards or limit our government’s right to regulate.”

EAEA will continue to follow-up the developments of the TTIP negotiations in the upcoming months and advocate for the exclusion of education and public services in general in the TTIP agreement.

Text: EAEAPhotos: EAEA

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