250,000 Berlin Demonstrators Demand 'Stop TTIP and CETA'; Call for Fair and Just Global Trade

About 250,000 people showed up in Berlin on Saturday to protest against the free trade agreements between the European Union and the U.S. and Canada, calling for fair trade instead.

The demonstrators, including CWA's international allies, said the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its Canadian counterpart, CETA, will undermine jobs, the environment and democracy. A coalition of 170 civil society groups – including environmental, development and social politics, democracy, culture, citizens' and consumer rights and trade unions – had called for the mass protest but turnout far exceeded the organizers' expectations.

The demonstration sent a clear signal, the organizers said, "We are standing up against TTIP and CETA. Together we defend our democracy and march in the streets for fair and just trade. The TTIP negotiations, based on the current mandate, have to be stopped. The present CETA contract must not be ratified the way it is now."

The organizers have also collected more than 3 million signatures on petitions against TTIP and CETA, which they have handed to the EU Commission.

The turnout of 250,000 demonstrators in Berlin vastly exceeded expectations of the organizers of the Berlin protest.