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Roundup: Summit with Canada "still possible" despite Belgian opposition: EU's Tusk

Xinhua, October 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

European Council President Donald Tusk on Monday said Thursday's EU-Canada summit on a free trade deal is "still possible" despite Belgium's continued opposition to the deal.

Tusk insisted there was time until Thursday, when they hope to formally sign CETA.

"Together with (Canadian Prime Minister)Justin Trudeau, we think Thursday's summit still possible," Tusk said in a tweet. "We encourage all parties to find a solution. There's yet time."

Tusk warned earlier that the trade deal with Canada could be the bloc's last free trade agreement if it fails, saying the "credibility of Europe is at stake."

The summit, scheduled on Oct. 27, was designed for the European Union (EU) to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.

The deal has been in the pipeline for seven years and got approval from 27 member states of the EU.

However, due to the opposition from the Belgian region of Wallonia, the signature of the deal which needs a consensus of all 28 EU members, has been thrown into uncertainty.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Monday that Belgium cannot sign the free trade pact due to strong opposition to the deal from its southern region of Wallonia.

"After the talks we established that the Wallonia and Brussels governments, as well as authorities from the Francophone communities, had said no. Therefore we are not able to sign CETA," the prime minister said.

CETA aims to establish a free trade zone between the EU and Canada, scrapping more than 98 percent of existing tariffs between the two partners, but opponents like Wallonia are concerned that the deal would threaten product standards and undermine workers' rights. Endit