The comprehensive Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA), negotiated by the Harper government, remains a pillar of Canadian trade policy. This agreement, which many view as a possible template for future international economic cooperation, has had a rough ride and more speed bumps appear to be on the horizon.
On Wednesday, October 12, the German Constitutional Court confirmed it would hear a legal challenge to CETA from three different German activist groups who claim it would undermine workers’ rights and consumer standards. Perhaps more significantly, on October 13 the Wallonia Parliament which governs southern Belgium rejected the treaty. This result could potentially be used by Wallonia to veto CETA at the national level. More details of this vote are available here:
EU’s trade ministers are meeting on October 18 to signal their ongoing commitment to finalizing CETA in advance of an October 27 EU-Canadian summit to ratify the treaty. However, that does not exactly leave sufficient time to bring European opponents of CETA on-side so-to-speak.