A landmark in the campaign to scrap the the TTIP and CETA trade deals with the USA and Canada, was reached last night, as over 3 million EU citizens signed to call for and end to the agreements. After more than a year of hard work, the self-organised ECI (European Citizens’ Initiative) against TTIP and CETA came to an end, after reaching every corner of Europe. Indeed, the quorum was surpassed in 23 countries, more than the triple of what is needed (seven countries) to submit an official ECI petition to the European Commission.
Thousands of volunteers and more than 500 organisations worked together to keep on collecting signatures even after the rejection of this ECI by the Commission and that’s how we managed to triple also the number of needed signatures: 3 million people expressed their dissent!
As Young Friends of the Earth Europe, we played our part by bringing the petition to the streets, collecting signatures at demonstrations and festivals and organizing special actions. Some of us hosted the giant Trojan horse.
In Brno, Young Friends of the Earth Europe activists handed out popcorn in paper cornets with the sign “GMO popcorn” and “Stop TTIP” to the public.
Meanwhile in Berlin, a group of young activists went for a bicycle tour to pick fresh fruit and then had an anti-TTIP jam party – showcasing the alternatives of local food production, in the face of the threat TTIP would pose to our food system.
Elsewhere, we joined days of action against TTIP and other trade deals and organised our own events, staying on the streets for many hours over many days, under the hot sun and with strong winds threatening to .
We took part in dozens of events and addressed many hundreds of people, and it’s not finished yet. The campaign goes on also without the petition and there are already more events and activities planned.
The next step of the campaign is the week of action against TTIP between October 10th and 17th – for more information on how to get involved with this and other #ReclaimPower days of action, check out our guide.