Trudeau signs deal as EU finally seals historic trade agreement with Canada
THE European Union and Canada signed a landmark trade deal on Sunday — following days of uncertainty due to opposition in Belgium.
As protesters gathered outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico — whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency — put an end to the suspense by signing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade agreement.
“This accord is the product of long discussions. Frank discussions, but which have always taken place in respect, among partners that share common values,” Trudeau told reporters afterwards.
The EU needed unanimity among all its 28 members and Belgium needed the backing of all its regions to approve the pact, known as CETA.
Mr Trudeau had been due to sign it on Thursday, but was forced to cancel his flight when Belgium couldn’t sign on because of opposition from the Wallonia region.
Smaller than the US state of New Jersey, Wallonia defied hopes for a deal between more than 500 million EU citizens and 35 million Canadians for weeks.
Politicians there argued CETA would undermine labour, environment and consumer standards and allow multinationals to crush local companies.
After several rounds of talks late into the night last week Belgium formally gave its endorsement on Saturday morning.
Even Mr Trudeau’s plane appeared to have conspired to hold up the signing ceremony as it turned back to Ottawa overnight with mechanical problems.
But Mr Trudeau, who made it to EU headquarters only two hours late, said he welcomed the challenge posed by Wallonia.
“The fact that throughout people are asking tough questions of a deal that will have a significant impact on our economies, and giving us the opportunity to demonstrate that that impact will be positive, is a good thing,” he said.