Compromise reached on Ceta trade agreement

Belgium’s regional governments have agreed to a compromise in the EU-Canada free-trade agreement known as Ceta. The compromise follows several tense days of negotiations after Wallonia’s regional government unexpectedly blocked the approval of the trade agreement, which was meant to be signed on Friday.

The federal and regional parliaments have until midnight tonight (Friday) to ratify their governments’ agreements. It remains unclear what the functional differences are between the new form of the treaty accepted by the Walloon government, led by socialist Paul Magnette, and the form he rejected earlier.

Magnette’s rejection of the trade agreement this week led to international headlines and questions as to how a regional government representing some 3.6 million people could torpedo a treaty approved by governments representing 350 million people in the EU. Other states have approved Ceta for a number of reasons, including that it will eliminate nearly all trade tariffs between Canada and the EU.

Magnette has stated that Ceta will undermine food safety, agriculture and workers’ rights and provide a back-door access to US companies. He echoed other critics of Ceta internationally, some of whom see it as mostly benefitting multinational corporations.

According to Bart De Wever, president of the Flemish majority party N-VA, the new version of Belgium’s agreement differs from the old in no substantial manner. The Walloon minister-president, he claimed, kept the entire world hanging to score political points. As in Wallonia, PS is in majority in the government of the Brussels-Capital Region, while being in opposition in the federal government.

The treaty with Canada was meant to be signed in Brussels today by all 28 member states. The signing can now only take place after the midnight deadline for the various Belgian parliaments to submit their approvals.