Latin America & Fair trade

• The dark side of Santos’ visit to Europe

  

  11.11.2014, Viviana Viera Geraldo and Lucho Ziegler | Wearing his Halloween peace dove costume, Santos arrived to Europe seeking funds to support post-conflict Colombia. The president’s visit earned him great support from various EU members states, but also generated strong criticism from certain members of the European Parliament as well as organisations of civil society ...

• Los derechos humanos de los colombianos valen menos que los intereses empresariales

  

  17.05.2014 | La defensa de los derechos sociales y los derechos humanos de los ciudadanos continúa siendo combatida en diversas regiones de Colombia por los intereses particulares de poderes empresariales tanto colombianos como extranjeros. Esa es la principal conclusión del eurodiputado alemán Jürgen Klute, al término de la misión de verificación de derechos humanos que ha realizado por departamentos como Valle del Cauca, el Cesar y la Guajira, donde se entrevistó con líderes comunitarios, sociales, políticos y sindicales, así como autoridades, instituciones y empresas

• Llamada a la Comisión a dejar en suspenso el TLC Colombia-UE por quiebra del estado de derecho

  

  10.04.2014 | El presidente de Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, decidió recientemente destituir al alcalde electo de la capital Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, a consecuencia de un procedimiento no judicial y en violación de las medidas cautelares vinculantes dictadas expresamente1 por la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH). A la vista de esta medida desafortunada y antidemocrática, nosotros, europarlamentarios, llamamos a la Comisión Europea a iniciar inmediatamente el procedimiento para dejar temporalmente en suspenso el Tratado de Libre Comercio UE-Colombia. Esto es, la parte del Acuerdo Comercial entre la Unión Europea y Colombia y Perú que se refiere a Colombia.

• Calling on the Commission to put the EU-Colombia FTA in abeyance

  

  10.04.2014 | The Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, recently decided to overthrow the capital city Bogota's elected mayor, Gustavo Petro, as a consequence on a non-judicial procedure and in violation of binding precautionary measures explicitly issued1 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). In views of this misguided and undemocratic fact, we Members of the European Parliament call on the European Commission to start immediately the procedure to put the EU-Colombia Free Trade Agreement temporarily on hold. That is to say, the part of the Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru that refers to Colombia.

• EUROsociAL Meeting in Brussels

  

  25.03.2014, Viviana Viera | Jürgen Klute claimed in EUROsociAL meeting in Brussels, to renegociate the Free Trade Agreements between the EU and Latin-America in order to stop the negative effects already resents in some regions of Latin-America and to achieve Fair Trade Agreements.

• Cumbre EUROsociAL en Bruselas

  

  25.03.2014, Viviana Viera | En su ponencia en la Cumbre EUROsociAL, el eurodiputado Jürgen Klute apoya la propuesta de renegociación de los TLC entre la UE y América Latina con el fin de detener los efectos negativos, para lograr Acuerdos de Comercio Justos y lograr la cohesion social tan anhelada en ambas regiones.

• Eurodiputado pide suspender el TLC UE-Colombia por la irregular destitución del alcalde de Bogotá

  

  21.03.2014, Santiago Quinones y Viviana Viera | El Tratado de Libre Comercio entre la Unión Europea y Colombia debe ser suspendido temporalmente, según el eurodiputado alemán Jürgen Klute, a la luz del posible quebrantamiento del principio del estado de derecho en Colombia provocado por la reciente decisión de las autoridades colombianas de destituir sin juicio previo a Gustavo Petro, alcalde de Bogotá y segunda personalidad electa más relevante de Colombia después del presidente Juan Manuel Santos ...

• MEP asks for keeping the EU-Colombia FTA in abeyance because of irregular overthrow of Bogota mayor

  

  21.03.2014, Santiago Quinones y Viviana Viera | Member of the European Parliament Jürgen Klute calls to leave the EU-Colombia Free Trade Agreement on hold waiting for a sentence delivered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the case of controversial overthrow and disqualification for public

• Fair Politics thanks Jürgen Klute for fight against tax crimes

  22.01.2014 | Fair Politics: "Klute proposes that trade agreements with third countries should include an automatic data exchange, including information about capital flows and taxation. He also proposes that after five years it should be evaluated how trade agreements between the EU and third countries affect the fight against financial crimes."

• Eurodiputad@s apoyan la campaña de Viviana Viera

  

  22.01.2014 | Eurodiputad@s de diferentes países y grupos politicos que conocen el trabajo de Viviana Viera en el Parlamento Europeo, manifestaron su apoyo a la campaña "Nuestros Derechos Sin Fronteras" - POLO 401.

• Carta abierta al Presidente Juan Manuel Santos de Eurodiputados respecto a la decisión de inhabilitar a Gustavo Petro

  

  11.12.2013, MEPs Klute, Romeva i Rueda, Zimmer, Matias... | Las actuaciones de la Alcaldía de Bogotá en la puesta en marcha de un nuevo esquema de aseo en la ciudad y la inclusión de la población recicladora en un sistema antes monopolizado por la empresa privada, han tratado de convertir a esta ciudad en una Bogotá más Humana. Si bien es cierto que ha habido fallos en la implementación de este nuevo sistema, la destitución e inhabilitación del Alcalde nos hacen pensar que una persecución política podría estar detrás de las razones invocadas sobre su gestión para su destitución.

• MEPs put into question the decision to oust Gustavo Petro from his position as Mayor of Bogotá

  

  11.12.2013, MEPs Klute, Romeva i Rueda, Zimmer, Matias... | It is known that within the framework of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it is impossible that a civil servant removes a governor elected by the vote of the people. Concretely, the American Convention on Human Rights stipulates that political rights can only be restricted per means of a sanction, if a condemnation exists and is taken by a competent judge, according to a legal procedure. This is not the case with Gustavo Petro.

• Land grabbing and human rights in Colombia

  

  10.12.2013, telebraille | The debate over land grabbing in Colombia by European multinational companies has crossed borders and has aroused the interest of the European Parliament. In a recently published letter they criticize the victims and land restitution law, favouring commercial interests over those who demand full restitution of their lands. 25 MEPs expressed their concern about the accumulation of land and the government attempt to change the law, favouring big business.

• EU must investigate and find who financed and sent Előd Tóásó and Mario Tadić to Bolivia

  25.11.2013, Jürgen Klute | In response to the resolution supported by the right-wing groups, the liberals and the social democrats, which says that the mercenaries have been “held without charge in pre-trial detention” since their arrest, Jürgen Klute emphasised that this resolution contradicted itself since it recognizes that “on 17 December 2010 charges of terrorism were publicly formulated”. Jürgen Klute said that Bolivian law was applied in accordance with article 239 of the Penal Procedure Code.

• No Peace without Women

  21.11.2013, MEPs Klute, Senyszyn, Sousa, Lochbihler, Gustafsson... | We know that the efforts underway in Havana are enormous and that after so many years of confrontation, the task is complex. Nevertheless, we call on the players at the dialogue table to assess the possibility of calling a bilateral cease fire. Colombia should not have to mourn any longer for the victims of armed conflict. A ceasefire would be an important step in building confidence in the peace process, and in showing results and positive changes for civilians living in conflict zones.

• MEPs concerned about land grabbing by European companies in Colombia

  

  20.11.2013, MEPs Klute, A. Gomes, Häusling, Lambert, Le Hyaric... | We are concerned about the social fabric of the area since the purchase of land by large corporations removes communities from their traditional territories, also inhabited by indigenous groups. In addition, projects in these areas can have serious environmental consequences, affecting a fragile ecosystem characterized by high biodiversity and water resources. European companies such as Poligrow have been involved in this land grabbing process.

• Impunity Inc.: Cases on the "super-rights" and "super-powers" of corporate capital

  03.07.2013, Observatory on Debt and Globalisation (ODG) & the Transnational Institute | For the full pdf version of the report click here Executive Summary This report was produced as part of the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity. Through three case studies, it aims to provide inputs for reflection on the “super-rights” and “super-powers” of transnational corporations ...

• MEPs reject possibility of resuming normal EU-Paraguay relations

  

  25.06.2013, Jürgen Klute, Raul Romeva, Helmut Scholz, Ana Miranda | In response to the visit of the Paraguayan president-elect to Brussels, several members of the European parliament have rejected the possibility of resuming normal relations between the EU and Paraguay in light of major human rights violations in the South American nation. A statement was sent out by MEP's shortly before the visit of president-elect Horacio Cartes. The authors criticize, above all, that a massacre that left 17 people dead in June of 2012 has not yet been clarified and was used to stage a political trial against the then democratically elected president and impeach him.

• MEP's address letter of concern to Guatemalan governement over Rios Montt trial

  

  18.06.2013, MEPs Klute, Schaake, Weber, Zimmer, Perello... | As members of the European Parliament we have engaged with your government as part of our commitment to end impunity for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity wherever it persists; and in the last months have closely followed the path-breaking trial of former de facto head of state Efrain Rios Montt and his chief of military intelligence, Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

• PRESS CONFERENCE: The EU Colombia-Peru FTA: For an efficient Road Map on Human Rights

  

  11.06.2013, MEPs Klute, Grèze, Howitt and guests | The FTA between the EU and Colombia/Peru is one of the most controversial agreements that the EU has ever signed. Major Trade Unions, Human rights organisations, and many MEPs have raised concerns about the current very high rates of impunity and human rights violations, especially in Colombia ...