Main opposition Coalition of the Left SYRIZA party expressed its concerns on issues ranging from the protection of Greek PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) products to the sovereignty itself during the parliament plenary on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU.

SYRIZA sparked a debate on Monday following a question in which the agreement was described as a “nightmare”. SYRIZA MP Alexis Mitropoulos and MP Dimitris Stratoulis urged the government to intervene in order to stop negotiations over an agreement that is believed to be to the detriment of ordinary people.

“Greece’s objectives for the Agreement being negotiated is to protect PDOs, liberalize maritime transport within the US, access the US energy deposits at competitive prices, grant ‘our children’ accessibility to the US labour market, annul the laws that exclude our products and services from the US market and create additional opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises,” said Mr. Mitarachi.

He added that according to a European Commission report, the Agreement will result in increasing the European GDP by 119 billion euros (6%) per year and the average annual European household’s income by 545 euros.

The Agreement under negotiation has caused mixed reaction in Europe over the issues it touches upon and the fact that negotiations are being held in secret.