Earlier this week, Clare Moody joined fellow Labour MEPs Jude Kirton-Darling and Theresa Griffin by signing an amendment to exempt public services from the market access and investment protection chapters of TTIP.
The amendment is intended to ensure that foreign investors cannot challenge EU member states for introducing new regulation for public services.
Speaking after the meeting, Clare Moody MEP said:
“My Labour colleagues and I will not support any measures at EU level which would lock-in the Coalition Government’s privatisation of the NHS, or indeed hamper the ability of a future Labour government to renationalise any privatised health and social care services.
“While the proposed agreement between the EU and US has the potential to give the EU economy a significant boost, Labour MEPs will continue to play an active role in TTIP negotiations to protect the NHS from privatisation. We are also working to prevent the application of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) or allowing any future agreement to lower employment, consumer or environmental standards. These are our red lines in negotiations on TTIP.
“However, the UK Government has the power right now to exclude the NHS, and wider public services, from any trade deal including TTIP.
“Nothing at EU level can force privatisation: only the UK government has the ability to privatise the NHS. If we really want to prevent this, then the best and most urgent thing we can do is to stop David Cameron and the Tories from winning in May.”
