European Union leaders have expressed hope of signing a trade deal with Canada after Belgian politicians overcame differences that had been blocking the treaty.
The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, confirmed that leaders of five regional parliaments had reached an agreement with the federal government shortly after midday on Thursday. He tweeted:
Canada’s foreign minister Stéphane Dion said he was “prudently optimistic” the treaty could be signed: “if it happens, it is excellent news.” But he added that “a scalded cat fears cold water”, an expression that could be translated as ‘once bitten, twice shy’
The Belgian compromise came too late for an EU-Canada summit that had been scheduled for Thursday. The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, had been due to meet the EU leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, but decided at the last minute not to get on the plane, as Belgian politicians wrangled over the agreement late on Wednesday night.
Cecilia Malmström, the EU trade commissioner leading the trade talks with Canada, said she hoped a date could be set soon to sign the accord. Tusk, the European council president, sounded a note of caution, tweeting:
The Belgian compromise – a four-page text that sits alongside the 1,600-page treaty – must be vetted by ambassadors from 28 EU member states and endorsed by Belgium’s regional parliaments. If these hurdles are cleared, the treaty can be signed and come into force on a temporary basis.
The comprehensive economic and trade agreement (Ceta), which has been seven years in the making, has stumbled near the finish line, amid strong opposition from the Belgian regional parliament of Wallonia.
The EU requires all 28 member states to support Ceta for the treaty to come into force, but the Belgian federal government, which has always backed the trade treaty, was barred from giving its consent because of opposition from regional parliaments in Wallonia and Brussels
Paul Magnette, Wallonia’s minister-president, who had been leading opposition to the agreement, had wanted to re-open talks with Canada, but the EU institutions insisted that was impossible.
Wallonia has been nervous about exposing its farmers to competition from Canadian farmers. Magnette had also raised objections to the proposed court system for settling disputes between foreign investors and governments.
One concession he won means Belgium would be able to go to the European court of justice to determine whether the new investor-state tribunals are compatible with EU law. The four-page document also contains a guarantee that the Belgian government will assess the socio-economic and environmental impact of Ceta.
The Walloon minister-president, who has been dubbed “Super-Magnette” in the Belgian media, said: “Wallonia is extremely happy that our demands have been heard.”
Speaking of the delay, Magnette said he was “sorry for our European partners and for the Canadians, but what we managed to get here is important not just for Wallonians, but for all Europeans”.
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