Press Release
19 March 2007 

Campaigners to stage record-breaking demo to call for a stop to Europe’s unfair trade deals with poor countries

Campaigners representing millions of people in the UK will protest over Europe’s trade with poor countries at every one of the embassies of European Union (EU) countries in London on Thursday 19 April.

The action will be staged by the Trade Justice Movement, a coalition of aid and development organisations, environment campaigns, Fairtrade organisations, trade unions and faith groups that together have a combined membership of 9 million UK citizens. The campaign group will take its message – “Europe: Don’t lock Africa in poverty” - to all 27 EU member states in a single action event. Campaigners across Europe and in Africa will stage similar actions.

The governments of the EU are pushing unfair trade deals on 75 countries in Africa as well as the Caribbean and the Pacific (the ACP countries). These countries – including some of the poorest in the world – are under pressure from Europe as it rushes to complete these deals by the end of the year.

Campaigners are demanding that the EU stops negotiating unfair trade deals with developing countries. The deals - called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) - are set to put jobs and economies at risk in developing countries, undermine healthcare provision and education for poor people, as well as damage their environment. 

The day’s action event on 19 April begins with a rally outside the German embassy in Belgrave Square in central London with leading figures from the UK’s most respected anti-poverty and environment organisations as well as trade unionists and speakers from the affected African countries.

Germany currently holds the presidency of the EU and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is being called upon by civil society groups in Europe and Africa to ensure that trade agreements of the EU with developing countries contribute to the eradication of poverty and promote sustainable development in the world’s poorest countries.

Following the rally outside the German embassy campaigners will take the Trade Justice message to embassies across London as well as the UK Government’s Department for Trade and Industry.

Trade Justice Movement Coordinator Glen Tarman said, "Millions of people across the UK are concerned about the way trade is currently deepening global injustice and poverty. Unjust trade rules and practices already keep millions of people in poverty around the world and harm our environment. Europe’s leaders must not go ahead with new trade deals that will make poverty worse. It is for us, as European citizens, to make sure they hear our message and act upon it.”

Organisations in the Trade Justice Movement such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, Traidcraft are amongst those calling for the public to come to central London on 19 April to add their voice to the call that Europe abandons all trade policies that harm both people and planet.

People interested in taking part in the action event on 19 April can find out more and register on the Trade Justice Movement website www.tjm.org.uk. Concerned citizens can send a message to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to tell her to use her influence to stop these unfair trade agreements on the website.

Since forming in 2000, the Trade Justice Movement has staged a number of record-breaking campaigning events calling on world leaders and other politicians to make international trade work to help make poverty history and protect the global environment.

Notes to editors

For further information: Anne Callaghan, Assistant Coordinator, Trade Justice Movement
Tel. 020 7404 0530 anne@tjm.org.uk 

Previous Trade Justice Movement events

• Westminster, November 2005: The largest lobby of the UK Parliament in the history of modern British democracy with trade justice campaigners lobbying 375 MPs in a single day.  
• Edinburgh, July 2005: With partners in Make Poverty History, a march of a quarter of a million people ahead of the G8 called on world leaders to take action for trade justice, better aid and debt cancellation. (The Make Poverty History manifesto called for the EU to drop its demand that former European colonies open their markets.)
• Westminster and Whitehall, April 2005: The largest political demonstration of the last UK election campaign, on any issue, called on the UK Government to stop the push for poor countries to open up their economies.
• Brighton, September 2004: Over 6, 000 trade justice campaigners surround the opening day of the UK Labour Party conference calling on the UK Government to ensure that poor country governments can choose the best trade solutions to end poverty and protect the environment. Since then, over 800, 000 British citizens sign the same call in a Vote for Trade Justice.  
• Nationwide, June 2003: The largest simultaneous lobby of British parliamentarians ever with over 500 MPs visited by supporters over 24 hours. Campaigners called for rich countries to not try and expand their powers over poor countries at the WTO into new issues. Poor countries stood firm and rejected these new issues at the WTO but the EU is now pushing the same countries to accept them in Economic Partnership Agreements.    

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