The European Commission has sparked fresh controversy over its ongoing negotiations to secure a major trade deal with the US and Japan, after it heavily redacted documents relating to meetings with big tobacco companies.
The Independent reports that a number of documents were released by Catherine Day, secretary general of the European Commission, in reply to a freedom of information request by the research and campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). But most were so heavily redacted as to render them meaningless, including one 14-page letter from British American Tobacco in May last year that sets out its "serious concerns with the consistency of [redacted]", in which all remaining content is blacked out. In some cases even the dates of meetings are censored.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One concern for critics of the treaty is a clause known as the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), which could allow tobacco companies to sue governments that attempt to introduce stringent anti-smoking legislation.
Marlboro maker Philip Morris used a comparable trade treaty to take legal action against Australia over mandatory plain cigarette packaging, in an ongoing case which few believe will succeed. It is also suing the UK over its incoming plain packaging rules in the High Court.
TTIP has been mired in controversy, with opponents claiming that it could affect public service provision and lower standards in areas such as food production. Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham has said if he was leader he would not support the agreement without a number of guarantees about its scope.
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence preventionThe Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
