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Spotlight: EU leaders optimistic about trade deal with Canada as debate continues in Belgium

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Leaders of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday signalled optimism in signing a free trade pact with Canada in a plenary debate with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), as Belgian politicians continued struggling talks on whether to approve the deal.

European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker briefed MEPs on the political conclusions of the latest EU summit, with the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on top of the agenda.

"I trust that an agreement will be reached in the course of today within Belgium, Wallonia and other parts of the country, so that Belgium can sign the deal when appropriate," Juncker said.

Tusk also told MEPs that he hoped the agreement would be finalised soon, but stressed that the EU could not simply ignore the views of national parliaments on trade agreements.

"No one will change the fact that EU is still the Union of States and not institutions," said Tusk.

"The fears and concerns for example on private arbitration must be addressed and they are being addressed and explained now. I trust that after today's talks in Belgium, the climate around CETA, and maybe around future free trade agreements, will change for the better," he added.

Earlier on Wednesday Tusk said on his twitter account that an EU-Canada summit scheduled to sign the accord on Thursday was still possible.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders and regional minister-presidents had been in talks since Tuesday afternoon, trying to close the deal before the planned summit.

The negotiation was interrupted around 6 p.m. Wednesday as the regions needed time to "further analyse" a text on the disputed issues.

The meeting resumed at 9 p.m. Although a compromise might be reached, the chances of Belgium approving the deal before Thursday are getting slimmer, according to local media.

If a text is agreed within Belgium, it needs to be reviewed and approved by all other member states, the Flemish newspaper De Morgen reported.

Belgium is the only EU country that still hasn't approved CETA, as three of the country's five regional authorities remain in steadfast opposition.

Without the unanimous consent of all member states, the EU cannot formally sign the deal with Canada, which took seven years to negotiate.

The two major issues raised by the opponents, namely the southern region of Wallonia, the capital region of Brussels and the French-speaking community, are an investor-state dispute settlement system, or private arbitration, incorporated in the deal, and the concerns over agricultural imports, according to the Francophone newspaper Le Soir.

According to the latest development, Belgium's political leaders failed to break the deadlock on Wednesday, but agreed to resume talks on Thursday.

The controversial trade pact aims to establish a free trade zone between the EU and Canada, scrapping more than 98 percent of existing tariffs. Endit