Belgian federated entities reached an agreement on Thursday noon, giving the federal government the green light to sign the ‘CETA’ EU-Canada trade agreement, reported EUobserver.
A copy of the agreement was sent to the EU ambassadors of all 28 member states, who will meet shortly to discuss whether they too accept the Belgian deal.
Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel announced that this means the deal could be signed next week.
Earlier on Thursday it was announced that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancelled a visit to Brussels because of Belgium’s deadlock over the troubled EU-Canada trade deal.
An EU-Canada signing ceremony had been planned for Thursday.
Its cancellation was a big setback for the EU, with Belgium’s Wallonia region preventing the 28-nation EU from signing Ceta, reported the BBC.
Ambitious trade deal
It took seven years to negotiate Ceta, the EU’s most ambitious trade deal yet.
The Ceta wrangling raised new concerns about future UK negotiations with the EU on a Brexit trade deal.
Under Belgium’s federal system, the national government could not sign the deal unless all six Belgian parliaments approve it.
French-speaking Wallonia, a staunchly socialist region of 3.6 million people, had led objections to the deal, demanding stronger safeguards on labour, environmental and consumer standards.
A major stumbling block was the plan to create new commercial courts to handle disputes between companies and national governments.
Wallonia feared they would give too much leverage to multinationals. It also wanted more protection for Walloon farmers, who would face new competition from Canadian imports, reported the BBC.
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