TTIP: Prosperous future or endless dispute in Transatlantic Relations?

Transatlantic Discussion Panel held on the 19th of May 2015 at the Europa-Institut of Saarland University

The event started at 13.30 at the lecture hall of the Europa-Institut on the campus of Saarland University. Approximately 70 people attended the discussion. The group consisted of scholars, students and interested people from the broader society who got interested into the event after it being announced in local media and via the University’s press service.

The panel consisted of the directors of the Europa-Institut, Prof. Dr. Thomas Giegerich and Prof. Dr. Marc Bungenberg, whose views were commented on by Dr. Leif Johan Eliasson and Dr. Christopher Brooks, both from East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania. The specialty of the event was the Trans-Atlantic approach to the topic. The role of the moderator was taken by Prof. Dr. Torsten Stein, who is former director of the Europa-Institut in Saarbrücken.

After delivering their introductory statements a broad range of topics were discussed: The opportunities from a potential agreement for business and in particular SMEs, food labelling and standards, International Dispute Resolution mechanisms, possibilities and problems for the cultural industry and implications for workers and unions are some examples. Ultimately, the audience also had the chance to comment on the statements and raise their own issues. Prof. Giegerich’s statement for the discussion is available in a different post on the blog and can be accessed here.

Finally, we have some impressions of the successful event:

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