The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the controversial trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, could have implications for Higher Education across the EU according the European Students Union (ESU).
In January this year the ESU urged the European Commission to exclude education from any such future agreement, after a recent statement highlighted concerns with the “closed and secretive approach taken by those involved when contacted by stakeholders from many sectors and the general public”.
After guarded negotiations to determine the terms, TTIP is estimated to generate around 1percent extra in GDP growth for economies in the EU and the US. Supporters in the European Commission argue this will be achieved by removing trade barriers, regulations and restrictions on investment between companies based on either continent.
However opposition has spread throughout Europe and across the political spectrum, as the Scottish Green Party find themselves oddly aligned with nationalist euro-sceptics like the French National Front in their rejection of TTIP. The agreement would give corporations more ‘protection’ from lawmakers, due to the loosening of regulations throughout the region.
Until January this year leaks were the only way that details of negotiations had reached the public, only fueling fears about the repercussions. Public concern about a push towards American-style privatisation of education under TTIP has only been exacerbated by the lack of transparency or public consultation over the trade deal.
Currently education in the UK is, along with healthcare, exempt from all free trade agreements. However, according to the National Union of Teachers, the effects of TTIP on education in the UK, should there be an agreement, would be “effectively irreversible”.
The finalisation of an agreement this year is widely thought to be inevitable. Unless students are informed about the secretive deal then they may be marginalized by the interests of international corporations – only to find out when it is too late to protect university tuition fees from the deal.
Featured photo credit: Garry Knight on Flickr.
