LUXEMBOURG: A troubled EU-Canada free trade deal can be signed “next week” despite the last minute opposition of the Belgian region of Wallonia, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said on Tuesday.
In a shock vote, the small Belgian region of Wallonia on Friday blocked the deal, known as Ceta — meaning that Belgium itself cannot sign up to the pact and leaving the deal in limbo after seven years of negotiations.
The vote threatened to torpedo the deal’s long-delayed signing by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Brussels on October 27 which would have opened the way for Ceta’s partial implementation.
“I am not sure we will be able to make a decision today, but hopefully we’ll move forward and can make a decision very soon,” Malmstroem said as she arrived for emergency talks with EU trade ministers in Luxembourg.
The ministers’ meeting was held as four activists from Greenpeace hung by rope from the conference centre hosting the talks as police watched nearby.
Greenpeace has led opposition to the Ceta deal, tipping it as a Trojan horse for a far more ambitious deal between the EU and US that is currently under negotiation.
Convincing to do
EU ministers fear a failure of Ceta would send a bad sign to the world on the difficulty of reaching trade deals with Europe.
The struggle to close the deal is also a worry for Britain, with many seeing Ceta as a potential model for ties with the UK after Brexit.
Malmstroem said she remained optimistic that the concerns of Wallonia will be addressed in time for the summit through a so-called interpretative document that would also be agreed to by Canada.
“I think that next week, we will be able to sign the declaration with the Canadian government,” she said.
In Belgium’s labyrinthine political system, the federal government is unable to sign off on trade deals without the backing of alls its regional and linguistic parliaments.
“In Belgium, we still have some convincing to do,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders as he arrived at the talks.
“We received some new proposals yesterday and today we will see where we stand,” he added.
Paul Magnette, Wallonia’s outspoken head of government, on Monday pointed to “disguised threats” for him to approve Ceta.
“If some think that will give in, then we will have to confirm our ‘no’,” Magnette warned.
Green MEPs meanwhile sent a letter to EU President Donald Tusk urging him to suspend ratification with Canada.
“It is a wrong ... to proceed towards the start of the ratification process for the mere reason that a EU-Canada Summit is set for the date of 27-28 October,” the letter said.
BOX-Germany’s Gabriel says he does not expect EU-Canada trade deal to fail
LUXEMBOURG: German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Tuesday he did not expect a planned free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada to fail, but it could take some time to answer questions raised by Belgium and other countries. “I don’t think the agreement can fail,” Gabriel told reporters before a meeting of EU trade ministers in Luxembourg.
“But Belgium and Romania, for example, still have questions that perhaps can be answered today. Perhaps we will need a bit more time.” All 28 EU governments now back the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), which would be the bloc’s first trade accord with a G7 country.
Gabriel said the EU Commission had taken a big step forward by issuing a legally binding declaration in the past month that showed the accord would not lead to reduced consumer protection standards, weaker workers’ rights or pressure to privatise firms. “That should reassure many people in Germany, for example,” he said.
-Reuters
