The Senate met Monday to discuss the controversial trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, or CETA. The coalition is in favor of the treaty, but is six seats short in the Senate. The PvdA, in the House of Representatives against the treaty, is going to help the governing parties to a majority, according to the debate. This leads to a lot of criticism from the rest of the opposition, including from ally GroenLinks.
“I find it painful to stand here and ask critical questions,” said GroenLinks senator Farah Karimi towards her PvdA colleague Ruud Koole.
GroenLinks strongly opposes CETA and is “disappointed” about the support of the PvdA-Senate faction for the treaty. Senator Karimi tried to get Koole on her side: “All the environmental organizations, the unions and progressive forces say ‘don’t do it’ and you do it anyway. That is just inexplicable.”
Koole thinks so and says that his group has made a substantive assessment. “We see CETA as a step forward towards a better future.”
What is the CETA agreement again?
- Free Trade Agreement concluded in 2017 between the EU and Canada
- With CETA almost all trade tariffs that exist between the EU and Canada will be eliminated
- This should facilitate trade between these two regions
- Agreement can only enter into force in its entirety after approval by all parliaments of the EU Member States
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PvdA was at the cradle of CETA, but voted against in the House of Representatives
More than two years ago voted the PvdA led by party leader Lodewijk Asscher in the House of Representatives still opposes the trade agreement. Only the coalition parties and Groep Van Haga voted in favour. That while the PvdA in Rutte II supplied the minister who negotiated the treaty: Lilianne Ploumen.
Due to the withdrawal of the PvdA in the House of Representatives, it was uncertain whether the treaty would be supported by a majority in the Senate. But the Social Democrats are taking a different course in the Senate, so that the trade agreement will probably still win a majority.
Opposition parties find PvdA arguments incomprehensible
Koole faced much criticism from the rest of the opposition during Monday’s debate, but continued to defend CETA. “We have weighed this treaty carefully and did not go over the top overnight.”
The PvdA group believes it is important to agree to CETA because of the current situation in world politics. Koole also states that the treaty takes important steps towards a more sustainable world. The PvdA senators also think that it is a good treaty for workers’ rights.
Moreover, Koole argued that his group can now agree to the treaty because of a new complaints mechanism that has been set up within the EU. As a result, civil society organizations can easily file a complaint with the Commission if companies do not comply with certain standards.
PVV senator Marjolein Faber pointed out that this mechanism has not changed the treaty itself and called it “a pacifier” that is being held up. SP senator Bastiaan van Apeldoorn found it incomprehensible that the PvdA party would agree to CETA, partly because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the consequences on the world stage. “Now my clog breaks”, said the SP.
GroenLinks and PvdA cooperation under a magnifying glass
Since the PvdA and GroenLinks announced their intended merger in the Senate, the collaboration between these two left-wing parties has been under a magnifying glass.
Not surprisingly, other senators pointed out on Monday that they are diametrically opposed on CETA. “You want to form a faction together: do you have the same standards and values here?” asked Senator Henk Otten, for example.
Koole: “Our goals are the same, but on the way to getting there, we make a different assessment. This does not stand in the way of cooperation with GroenLinks.”
Karimi shared this view, but could not resist emphasizing that many PvdA members are against CETA. “I am going to ask a question that has been asked by your members. They cannot be here, so I will represent those members in the context of the cooperation,” said the GroenLinks senator.
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