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1st LD Writethru: Parliament of Belgium's region of Wallonia approves CETA deal

Xinhua, October 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Belgian region of Wallonia formally approved the European Union-Canada free trade deal, or CETA, on Friday afternoon following an extraordinary meeting of lawmakers.

The amended treaty gathered 58 out of 63 votes in favor of the deal.

An amended version of the deal was put on the table on Thursday as a result of intensive negotiations between Belgian central and regional governments and all devolved parliaments in the country would have to endorse the treaty before midnight Friday.

Wallonia regional lawmakers finally agreed on this new version of the treaty of which two key amendments are as follows: the European Court of Justice will have to determine whether the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) is compatible with European treaties; the CETA deal will be assessed regularly in regard of its social, economic and environmental impacts.

The Belgian German-speaking region also approved the amended text on Friday.

Lawmakers of the other Belgian region of Brussels-Wallonia Federation would gather at 6:30 p.m. to give their approval -- or refusal -- to the amended version. Endit