Spotlight: EU, Canada sign landmark free trade deal after Belgian drama

The European Union (EU) and Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, on Sunday in the wake of a weeks-long Belgian drama.

European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker together with Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia which is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, signed the long-delayed free trade deal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a ceremony held in Brussels.

Hailing CETA as "the most comprehensive, ambitious and progressive trade agreement ever negotiated" by both Canada and the EU, a joint declaration released after the ceremony said the deal would open a new dimension to EU-Canada economic ties.

The two sides committed to the swift provisional implementation of CETA while ensuring all stakeholders, including employers, trade unions, consumer and environmental groups, participate in the ongoing implementation.

"We remain fully committed to the principle that trade agreements should fully preserve the ability of governments to regulate in the public interest, especially with regard to public services as well as environmental and labour protections," the declaration said.

The deal comes with a binding joint interpretative instrument, which has legal status and will serve as an authentic interpretation of CETA, to explain what the provisions mean in practice.

The landmark deal has sent a "positive signal" about the importance of free, fair and progressive international trade, the joint declaration said.

"Today's decisions demonstrate that the disintegration of the Western community does not need to become a lasting trend," Tusk told a press conference after the ceremony, stressing that the West still possess enough strength and determination to counter fatalism of political's decay.

Tusk said free trade and globalization have protected humanity from poverty, hunger and total conflict, but few people seem to believe or understand this today, noting "Post-factual reality and post-truth politics pose a great challenge on both sides of the Atlantic."

"The alternative to free trade is isolationism and protectionism, a return to national egoisms, and as a result - the threat of violent conflict," he continued, "We should be able to convince our citizens that free trade is in their interest, and not just big companies and corporations."

Juncker also celebrated the signature of the deal. He tweeted in social media after the ceremony, saying "Done. CETA is as of today the new golden standard in trade agreements."

CETA would remove more than 99 percent of tariffs that were currently imposed on trade between the EU and Canada and was expected to increase bilateral trade by 12 billion euros (about 13.2 billion U.S. dollars) per year, the European Commission said in a press released on Sunday.

"At the end of transitional periods for duty elimination, Canada will eliminate duties worth 500 million euros a year for goods originating in the EU," the statement noted.

The signing ceremony planned for Thursday was cancelled after a Belgian region opposed to sign the deal. The French-speaking Belgian region Wallonia concerned that the deal would jeopardize European farmers' interest and grants too much power to multinationals.

The EU, a bloc with 500 million people, can only sign the deal with consent of all member states.

The consensus reached by all regional parliaments of Belgium on approving the CETA Friday cleared the way for signing of the deal.

On Wallonia's requirement, the negotiators from the EU and Canada agreed to add an addendum to the deal.

Under the addendum, the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) of the deal, which would allow enterprises to sue European governments, would be determined by the European Court of Justice whether compatible with European treaties.

After signature, the free trade deal still needs to get consent from the European Parliament for it to enter into force provisionally. Endit