(Brussels) In their joint document about the TTIP made known today, European and US bishops listed a series of “principles for appraising any proposal of trade agreement” between the US and the EU. Sustainability and caution are the first ones in the list: it is necessary to check carefully whether “products or procedures cause damage” to the environment or to present or future generations. It is necessary to defend work, and thus, the agreement should include “clear commitments” to support workers, families and communities bearing the “social and economic burden of the changes that free trade may generate”. The heritage of native communities such as small farmers weakened by “competition with agricultural products benefiting from several advantages linked with government policies and subsidies” should be respected. In the light of the current migration crisis, any agreement of this kind “should be conceived in such a way as to ensure decrease in the need to emigrate”. In fact, an excerpt about “intellectual property rights” says that agreements cannot be advantageous for the two parties in question only, but they should also take into consideration “benefits and costs” for “third parties”: the poor, vulnerable, young, old, and sick. Finally, the bishops ask for the scheduled mechanisms for settling disputes to be fair and independent of private interest; moreover, transparency and right to participation in TTIP negotiations should be granted.