Three German organizations, Campact, foodwatch and Mehr Demokratie [advocacy websites] submitted a complaint against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agrement (CETA) [materials] Wednesday to the Federal Constitutional Court [official website]. With more than 125,000 signatures, the activists claim the complaint to be the largest public suit in the nation’s history. CETA is designed to eliminate tariffs and foster investments. In a press release [text], foodwatch stated that the trade agreement, between the EU and Canada, violates Basic Law in four different respects. The complaint alleges that the agreement would create omnipotent committees and discriminatory investment courts, while bypassing due diligence and implementing provisional action without the consent of voters.

The trade agreement between the EU and Canada was reached [JURIST report] in 2013. At that point, CETA had been in negotiation for four years. The alliance would provide Canada with greater reach into the European market and eliminate as much as 98 percent of all tariffs. The EU has endorsed the notion that CETA will comply fully with European standards for workers and safety.