Belgium Won't Support Trade Deal With Canada --Update
25 October 2016 - 4:57AM
Dow Jones News
By Viktoria Dendrinou and Natalia Drozdiak
BRUSSELS -- Belgium said it wouldn't support a trade deal
between the European Union and Canada after one of its regions
continued to block the pact, dashing hopes of signing the accord
later this week.
The Belgian government had until Monday to get Wallonia on board
if the deal was to be signed at a planned summit with Canada on
Thursday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was expected
to attend.
Despite Belgium's inability to back the deal on Monday, European
Council President Donald Tusk said he and Mr. Trudeau thought
Thursday's summit was still possible. "We encourage all parties to
find a solution. There's yet time," he wrote on his Twitter
account.
While the possible postponement of the summit doesn't
necessarily spell the end of the trade pact, it does highlight the
acute difficulties the EU is facing in striking ambitious economic
agreements. The impasse has also begun to weigh on Canada's
patience.
EU officials have already said reaching a deal with Wallonia
could take at least several more weeks, stressing that the problem
at hand is first and foremost a domestic issue in Belgium.
"At the moment we need to arm ourselves with patience," said
Margaritis Schinas, the spokesman for the European Commission,
which negotiates trade deals on behalf of EU governments.
He added that even if this week's summit doesn't take place, the
issue will remain open.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, has
been on thin ice in recent weeks after opposition by Wallonia,
Belgium's French-speaking region, has kept the country's leadership
from supporting the deal.
After a meeting on Monday of representatives from Belgium's
various regional governments, the federal government said it was
unable to support the deal.
Because of opposition from the Walloon government, "that means
we're not able to sign off on CETA," Belgian Prime Minister Charles
Michel said Monday.
Belgian and EU officials said Mr. Michel had already informed
Mr. Tusk of his country's position.
The trade deal between the EU and Canada needs the full backing
of all 28 member states. But while the Belgian federal government
supports the trade pact, it still needs the green light from its
five regional authorities before it can give its official
approval.
A spokesman for Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland
repeated Monday that it was up to Europe to find a solution that
completes the trade pact. Ms. Freeland is scheduled to be in
Canada's legislature Monday, where she may face questions from
opposition lawmakers about the future of CETA, which Canada policy
makers were relying on to help boost exports.
CETA, which was concluded in February after seven years of
negotiations, aims to revoke roughly 9,000 tariffs, covering many
industrial goods and agricultural and food items, including beef
and fish. It also promises to open up competition in the services
sector, including banking and insurance.
During several days of talks among Wallonia's government, led by
Paul Magnette, Canada and the European Commission, negotiators
added further safeguards to ensure that concerns about not lowering
the standard for public services, the environment and other
sensitive areas were addressed. But Wallonia still objected to the
deal.
Walloon lawmakers worry the deal could harm the region's beef
and pork farmers and pose a risk to environmental and labor
standards. They also oppose a controversial court system for
settling investment disputes, which they say would end up giving
multinationals more power to sue EU governments.
While changes and clarifications made to the agreement over the
past few days have settled some of Wallonia's reservations, the
region's leadership has insisted that it needs more time to examine
them, and also needs further safeguards, particularly on the
investment dispute court.
CETA can be provisionally applied once EU governments and the
European Parliament ratify it. But for it to be fully put in place,
it will have to be ratified by all of the EU's national and
regional parliaments, requiring a further vote in the Belgian
assemblies.
Provisional implementation would include all aspects of the deal
relating to trade, whereas the court to settle investment disputes
would only come into force with full implementation.
Write to Viktoria Dendrinou at viktoria.dendrinou@wsj.com and
Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 24, 2016 13:42 ET (17:42 GMT)
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