Belgium reaches deal with Wallonia over EU-Canada trade agreement

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BRUSSELS. KAZINFORM. The Belgian government has reached a deal to back the free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, TheGuardian.com reports.

The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, announced the agreement on Thursday, following days of negotiations with Wallonia, a region in Belgium which had been blocking the deal.

The EU's 28 member states, including Belgium, support the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada, but it could not be passed without Wallonia lifting its veto. The EU needs unanimity on trade deals.

A breakthrough was achieved hours after the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, cancelled a trip to Brussels scheduled for Thursday at which the deal was supposed to be signed. No new date has been set.

Trudeau had been expected to fly to the Belgian capital as part of a delegation including the Canadian trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, and the foreign affairs minister, Stéphane Dion.

Ceta, which has been seven years in the making, had stumbled near the finish line after Wallonia raised concerns over surging pork and beef imports from Canada and an independent court system to settle disputes between states and foreign investors, which critics say may be used by multinationals to dictate public policy.

On October 27-28 in Brussels the EU-Canada Summit will be held. The main element of the event will be signing of CETA. In Europe there have been mass actions of protest against CETA and its analogue - the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Europeans have concerns that these agreements may seriously affect the standards of environmental protection, law and employment. They are convinced these agreements to be of use only to transnational companies.

Source: TheGuardian.com

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