Open letter to Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament

An open letter dated 7 July 2016, sent by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and over 65 other organisations to Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. The letter expresses concerns that the European Commission is ignoring the European Parliament's 2015 Resolution on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with the US, specifically regarding public health, environmental protections, and democratic processes.

• The European Commission is accused of negotiating on issues where the EU and US have divergent rules, specifically affecting legislation on cosmetic products, pesticides, and chemicals. The authors claim the Commission is already reducing EU protection standards, such as those for pesticide residues in food, to facilitate trade.
• The authors argue that the European Commission is failing to respect EU regulatory systems by proposing that the US Government be granted early access to draft EU measures. They state this allows the US to suggest regulatory compatibility through mutual recognition or legislation harmonisation, and that TTIP lacks a guarantee for Member States to legislate their own environmental and social policies.
• The proposed Investment Court System (ICS), intended to replace the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, is described as insufficient. The letter asserts that the ICS does not ensure independent judges, fails to respect the jurisdiction of Member States' and EU courts, and allows private interests to potentially undermine public policy goals.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2016). Open letter to Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TTIP-letter-to-Schulz-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Open letter to Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. 2016. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TTIP-letter-to-Schulz-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Open letter to Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament |date=7 July 2016 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TTIP-letter-to-Schulz-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2016open, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Open letter to Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2016}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TTIP-letter-to-Schulz-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }