On Sunday, Greenpeace said it had obtained 248 pages of classified TTIP documents representing around two-thirds of the draft free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. The documents expose the leading role of corporate interests in the proposed deal, as well as policies posing a threat to the environment and public health, according to Greenpeace.
"The most recent TTIP leak provides ample proof of one core fact: The contradictions between the official positions of both sides are far greater than the European Commission has ever publicly acknowledged," Buetikofer said, as quoted by the party's press release.
"Without much stronger involvement of parliaments and the public the Commission seems to be incapable of negotiating on par with the US side and ready to violate all relevant red lines, even the weak ones which the European Parliament has expressed," Buetikofer added.
The TTIP trade deal aims to deregulate trade between the United States and the European Union, which together comprise 60 percent of global production.
The secretive deal has sparked widespread concern that it will lower environmental, health, safety, and workers’ rights standards, as well as enabling the extra-judicial settlement of disputes in circumvention of national sovereignty.
