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Belgium reaches agreement on EU-Canada free trade deal

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Belgian agreement has finally been reached on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the free trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Canada, local media reported on Thursday.

Belgium's parliaments now have to endorse the treaty before midnight on Friday.

After the failure of talks between Canada's international trade minister Chrystia Freeland and Belgium's minister-president of Wallonia Paul Magnette last week, a new agreement was reached at around 12:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Thursday. The text was handed to the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the European Union, reports local newspaper Le Soir.

"We have finally found an agreement among the Belgians that will now be submitted to European institutions and our European partners," said Magnette. "When this happens, Belgium can sign the treaty," said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, as quoted by the Flemish newspaper De Redactie. Endit