The signing of the Free Trade Agreement between EU and Canada had been scheduled for this Thursday. However, Belgium was unable to do so as two of her regions withheld their approval and agreement was only reached at Thursday lunchtime. Because the agreement of all EU Members is required to ratify the Agreement, its signing had to be postponed for an indefinite period. One can only hope that the negotiations will also be able to solve the problems criticised by the AK.

CETA, the controversial Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada, had been scheduled for signing on Thursday, 27th October at a summit with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Following that, the European Parliament was to vote on the Agreement and to initiate the preliminary application of the Agreement until the national parliaments of the EU Member States had ratified it. However, it was not to be: the Belgian government was not able to sign it. Hence, representatives of the Canadian government called off their participation on Wednesday evening.

Further negotiations required

In the meantime, the inner-Belgian negotiations continued. Federalism in Belgium is highly developed and her regions have been given a say even in respect of international agreements. This means that the rejection by French-speaking Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital region made it impossible for the Belgian Government to sign. Intensive negotiations had been ongoing since last week, first with the EU Commission, then with Canada and finally within Belgium and her regions. According to press reports, progress had been made; however, the negotiators parted company on Wednesday evening without having reached any results. However, this doesn't mean that the Agreement is off the table: negotiations continued and the Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland declared Canada would be ready to sign as soon as the EU was ready. This could now be the case given the fact that finally an agreement within Belgium was reached at Thursday lunchtime. However, it is not yet foreseeable what exactly it involves and whether the Commission, the other EU Member States and Canada will be able to give their approval.

AK sees further room for improvement

It is also not clear whether substantial improvements on CETA could be achieved, as essential problems remain even after improvements and additional declarations that have been agreed upon so far. For example, in the AK’s opinion public services have not been sufficiently exempt from liberalisation and the intended cooperation regarding regulation entails the risk of reduced protective environmental, consumer and labour standards. Apart from that, a significant point of criticism – in spite of improvements – concerns the arbitration courts for investors. AK President Rudi Kaske commented: “In democratic states with the rule of law such as Austria and Canada one can rely on the courts of the state. There is no need for special rights for investors.”

Further information

Press release: “Kaske: 'We remain critical of CETA’” (German)

AK Study “Assess CETA”

AK Study “Impact of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the Legal Framework for the Provision of Public Services in Austria”

Brochures on CETA by AK, DGB and ÖGB