MTVSZ’s call came in response to Orbán branding TTIP as “dead” at a conference on Monday in the wake of measures by the newly inaugurated US president. The CETA will hurt Hungary’s agriculture, particularly its GMO-free status, the organisation said, citing experts.

The pact will empower multinational companies to bring anti-democratic legal procedures against governments pressing national interests in environmental and health issues, it said.

Although the Hungarian government has already signed CETA with Canada’s liberal government, Hungarian MEPs still have the power to reject it in Brussels, said MTVSZ.

Another possibility is for Hungarian lawmakers to reject the pact’s ratification in parliament, it said. Established in 1989, the MTVSZ comprises 120 member organisations from 18 Hungarian counties and Budapest.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.