EFD Europe of Freedom & Democracy : The EU is using TTIP in the course of its political agenda

Trade should be about economic benefits, not political goals but yet the Commission persistently wants to exploit trade agreements in the cause of its political agenda. And I refer you to Commissioner Malmstrom's statement at the confirmation hearings when she said in prepared remarks, 'Trade is a powerful foreign policy tool it must support Europe's wider international goals.' The intention is Member States are to be forced to barter, trade away their sovereignty in order to support the EU's vanity foreign policy.

The EU should not manipulate the UK's trade nor, that of any other Member State in order to promote the political pretentions of a wannabe European super state. Not with any trade agreement and not with ISDS either. Now to the detail, first the British National Health Service, the NHS, the British Labour party has spent months, years even, falsely accusing our party of wanting to privatise the NHS and incidentally in these false allegations they have been consistently aided and abetted disgracefully by the BBC.

But in the INTA committee UKIP was the only British party to table amendments that would have fully and properly protected the NHS. It was the S&D group, of which Labour party is a principle component that saw to it that no one got to vote on our amendments that protected the NHS. UKIP stands up for the NHS even as Labour party does not and fails to do so. Now I have to make a potentially embarrassing personal confession which is this, on a personal level I rather like President Schulz, however the exploitation, his exploitation, of the rules to delay the vote on the amendments in last month's plenary was not President Schulz's finest hour and I very much hope that this does not happen again.

But we are getting to vote on the amendments tomorrow, and I urge members to support our EFDD amendments, and these require very simply the Commission does not use TTIP to establish a global regulatory regime nor, as a device to advance the foreign policy goals of the EU. Nor to set up a parallel system that undermines national courts and national legal systems through the much mentioned ISDS, and above all our amendments require the commission to exclude specifically our British National Health Service from TTIP in its entirety. Thank you very much.