Discussions will continue on Monday to try to resolve the impasse over the EU-Canada trade deal as the leader of the Wallonian parliament said the region’s concerns had still not been addressed.
European Council president Donald Tusk has given the French-speaking regional parliament a deadline of Monday night, by which time the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between EU and Canada must be agreed, ahead of a scheduled summit with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in Brussels on Thursday.
Frantic negotiations took place over the weekend in Brussels between EU officials and the president of the regional parliament Paul Magnette – in a bid to salvage the deal after Canada's trade minister Chrystia Freeland walked out of talks in Belgium on Friday, in tears.
It is understood that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel will meet representatives of the country’s regional assemblies on Monday afternoon.
After seven years of negotiations, Wallonia – the French-speaking region of southern Belgium – has blocked the deal amid continuing concerns about the impact of the trade pact on the region's agriculture industry, and fears that a proposed investment court could give investors the right to sue governments.
“The commission has been working 24/7 to find a solution,” EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström tweeted on Sunday. “We now hope that Belgium will bring this matter to a successful close.”
Impasse
Among the possible solutions being mooted to end the impasse are changes to the political “declaration” which was offered by the EU earlier this month, as an extra appendix to the trade deal – to assuage last-minute concerns from some member states, including Austria.
European Parliament president Martin Schulz was the latest senior EU official to enter the diplomatic fray on Saturday, hosting talks between Ms Freeland and Mr Magnette on Saturday morning in Brussels.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Schulz said he saw “reason for optimism” about a positive conclusion “as soon as possible”.
“None of the stumbling blocks in the way of CETA’s adoption by Belgium are insurmountable,” he said, adding that many of the concerns expressed by the Wallonian parliament are shared by European citizens.
While all 28 member states, including Ireland, have given their backing to the deal, Belgium needs the support of all five regional parliaments to support the agreement.
The decision to permit national parliaments to have a say on CETA was taken by the commission in July, after it deemed that the agreement encroaches on national sovereignty.
EU member states are awaiting a key decision from the European Court of Justice on the EU-Singapore trade deal which may give guidance on whether future trade deals are deemed to be of “mixed competency”, involving EU and national powers, or purely EU agreements.
Negative implications
Canada, the EU’s 12th biggest trading partner, is understood to be increasingly frustrated with the delays to the deal which was signed off in principle by member states two years ago.
The controversy also threatens to seriously undermine the EU’s reputation as a trade negotiator.
Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy urged the Government to drop its support for the agreement, and commended the parliament of Walloon for rejecting the "toxic deal.".
“This is further evidence that CETA and TTIP [the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal] have no popular support and shows what can happen when even small nations or regions are given a democratic say on the issue,” he said.
“CETA, like TTIP, is a bad deal which would have serious negative implications for Irish farmers, workers and consumers.”
Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that Ireland, as a small open economy, was strongly in favour of trade agreements and was well aware of the benefits of trade.
He described the EU-Canada trade deal as a "new-generation agreement that will remove tariffs between the European Union and Canada", adding that he was confident the impasse could be resolved over the coming days.
