Water Cannons Turned On Peaceful TTIP Protestors In Brussels As Public Barred From Negotiations

[unhappycamper]

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140516/06133827253/water-cannons-turned-peaceful-ttip-protestors-brussels-as-public-barred-negotiations.shtml

Water Cannons Turned On Peaceful TTIP Protestors In Brussels As Public Barred From Negotiations
from the first-signs-of-panic dept
by Glyn Moody
Fri, May 16th 2014 7:39pm

The TAFTA/TTIP negotiations remain almost totally lacking in real transparency, with little information about what exactly is happening behind closed doors being released to the public -- and most of that coming from the EU side. This has naturally forced those excluded from the inner circle to speculate about what might be going on -- and, inevitably, to fear the worst. According to the US Ambassador to the EU, Anthony Gardner, and the EU Commissioner responsible for TTIP, Karel De Gucht, that's unacceptable:

~snip~

Gardner added: "There's a void (in information). The void is being filled more and more by social media."

That's interesting not just for the refusal to admit that it's lack of transparency that is creating this void, but also for the barely-concealed fear of social media, probably because it can't be controlled in the way that traditional media can. Gardner and De Gucht made their comments in Brussels, where they were both speaking at the European Business Summit, which describes itself as:

Europe's key meeting place for business leaders and decision makers, where Business and Politics Shape the Future.