The Brussels Business Page #5

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European institutions

can not only ...

... rely on information given

by the member states and ...

... experts in the

Finance Ministries.

They need to get the

information directly from ...

... the banks and

insurance companies.

The World Trade Organization

was planned at the time ...

... when there was a wave of

privatization around the world.

And when there was a

dominant thinking that ...

... what is good for large

companies is good for everyone.

Just give them

free reign.

In October 1997.

I was on the train to Paris.

On the way to a meeting that

will bring together activists ...

... from across Europe

and around the world ...

... to discuss trade agreement

that was negotiated ...

... behind closed

door at the OECD.

The debate was about the multilateral

agreement on investment MAI ...

... and it was about

international investments.

Sounds pretty harmless,

to an outsider, probably.

But in reality, it's boiled down

to a massive attack and ...

... undermining potentially

of Democracy.

Multilateral Agreement on

Investment was cooked up ...

... by some of the worlds largest

corporations and their associations.

And their goal was to

constrain governments ...

... from regulating these

big corporations ...

... and from regulating

capital on investments.

It literally constrained

governments.

It put hand-cuffs on government

regulation. And then ...

... empower the corporations

with a whole new set of rights ...

... to be freed from regulation

but also to sue our governments.

So, this agreement would have

meant that governments ...

... would have to compensate

foreign companies ...

... if they wanted to increase

environmental protections, ...

... if they want better

labor standards, ...

... if they want to secure

equal treatment for women ...

... or if they want

to tax capital.

MAI would even let to

companies been compensated ...

... for expected profit that

they might lose from some ...

... new law or regulation.

This goes completely against

the logic even on a free market.

Negotiations were top secret

and behind closed doors.

Until the official proposal

by the EU was leaked.

It was some Canadian group

that somehow obtained ...

... electronic

copy of the text.

Well clearly, the original source ...

... was a Democracy

loving civil servant ...

... in the government, that

sholud not be mentioned.

How that eventually

got around is ...

... we scanned the

text into a website ...

... and wrote the commentary

on what it ment ...

... so that the lay person

could actually understand it.

But when all of

this got public ...

... it turns out that several of

the European governments ...

... didnt even

know about it.

And then France

put up her Veto.

So, business had

been so successful ...

... in influencing

the MAI rules, ...

... that this time it was

counterproductive.

Despite the defeat in the

OECD with the MAI talks, ...

... commissioner

Leon Britan ...

... didnt want to give

up of this project.

So he broughted in again

under the name MIA ...

... and wanted to

launch a similar ...

... Investment treatty

in the WTO talks.

Mr. president, ladies

and gentlemen ...

... I think there is a wider degree

of consenssus on this issue ...

... than protagonists

would wish to admit.

The fact to the matter is that most

people, if not all who spoken ...

... do see the merrits of international

Agreement on Investments.

And they are

right to do so.

You can not force

investments to take place.

You can do

what you like.

You can shout and you can

scream slogans from the sky, ...

... but people

will not invest ...

... unless they believe that

there is a possibility ...

... to get a return.

Now it well may be that the

scene shifts of the WTO.

To achieve that we have

to persuade everybody ...

... that there should be a

new Millennium round ...

... and we have to

persuade people ...

... that the negotiations on

investment should take place in it.

So then in that

point of time ...

... the European trade

commissioner sir Leon Britan ...

... decided, 'I am going to

invite for dinner 40 CEO's ...'

'... of the major services

companies in Europe.'

Big banks,

big Telecoms, ...

... big insurance, big

distribution services, ...

... big transport services,

big tourism companies, ...

... and all different sectors ...

... that it is actually making

about 70% of GDP in Europe.

So, he invited a bunch

of 40 of those and ...

... after dinner, he said, 'Well,

now that you've got some ...'

'... some 'food' by the Commission

you owe me something.'

'You have to do

something for me.'

People sometimes think

that the Commission ...

... comes up with ideas out of

the blue and then pushes them.

It's not so at all.

The Commission is thirsty for

ideas from the economic actors ...

... to help us ...

... to decide what to put forth

which is in the interest of Europe.

It really was, I think, at

the time when ERT ...

... became more and more

present in the city.

It became clear that there

was a new way of lobbying.

But the ERT, from the world I'm coming

from, which is the services sectors, ...

... didnt represent anybody.

So, it was clear also that if the

service sector wanted to be heard ...

... they had also to

bring some CEO's ...

... to put their

voice loud.

Whereas we had strong ...

... European bodies pushing for

steel industry, agriculture, etc, ...

... the services were not

united and didnt provide ...

... clear voice and advice

for the Commission.

And that was very important,

it was a various sectors, ...

... the most

important sectors ...

... and we needed this advice

and I wanted that to provide it.

That's the way I became the managing

director European Services Forum.

We had 11 months

to prepare Seattle.

The first WTO ministerial conference

after the creation of this organization.

And the idea was that this

meeting is going to launch ...

... Millennium Round that sir Leon

Britan had so much pushed for.

The Commission has for very, very

long time taking as its starting point, ...

... interests in the negotiations, the

interests of large European companies.

For example, when we would ask for

access to Commission documents ...

... like a correspondence and

minutes from meetings, ...

... to reconstruct

what is going on ...

... whole fuss arises.

The Commission would treat these

requests as if they were hostile act.

They would

crossout all the ...

... essential elements that they

think not want us to know.

Treating us as if

we were an enemy.

Sir Leon Britain

never got to Seattle.

The entire Commission

had to resign ...

... because of the

massive fraud ...

... several commissioners

were involved in.

And in Seattle, ...

... Millennium round itself took

completely unexpected turn.

We were not alone

anymore with our concerns.

I was based in

the Hilton Hotel, ...

... and conference was in

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