Yahoo – AFP, Danny Kemp, October 30, 2016
Brussels (AFP) - The EU and Canada finally signed a landmark free trade deal seven years in the making on Sunday, after overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that nearly torpedoed the entire agreement.
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| (L-R) European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during the EU-Canada summit meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 30, 2016 (AFP Photo/John Thys) |
Brussels (AFP) - The EU and Canada finally signed a landmark free trade deal seven years in the making on Sunday, after overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that nearly torpedoed the entire agreement.
Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Brussels for a ceremony that had been
pushed back from Thursday after Wallonia with its population of 3.6 million
initially vetoed a pact affecting more than 500 million people.
But in a
sign of the fierce passions aroused by the giant Comprehensive Economic and
Trade Agreement (CETA), protesters burst through riot police lines and hurled
red paint at the EU's headquarters.
"That
I be here today or three days ago is not going to make a huge difference in the
grand scheme of the real impact it's going to have for this good deal to move
forward," Trudeau said after signing the pact with leaders of the EU
institutions.
Cheers and
applause erupted as they inked a long-anticipated deal that will remove 99
percent of customs duties between the two sides, linking the single EU market
of 28 nations with the world's 10th largest economy.
'Disintegration of West'
The leaders
hailed the pact as good news after the Belgian drama, which sparked dire
warnings for the EU's credibility as it wrestles with Britain's shock vote to
leave, a huge migration crisis and the threat of a resurgent Russia.
The signing
was also further delayed when Trudeau's plane from Canada suffered
"mechanical issues" and had to turn back for repairs.
"Patience
is a tree whose root is bitter, but its fruit is very sweet," EU President
Donald Tusk said. "Today's decisions demonstrate that the disintegration
of the Western community does not need to become a lasting trend."
European
Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker meanwhile said the deal was an
"international standard that will have to be followed by others" --
not least an even bigger agreement that the EU is negotiating with the United
States.
But the
fate of the Canada-EU deal -- so close to the finish line after seven gruelling
years of negotiations -- had been hanging by a thread until just days ago
because of Belgium.
French-speaking
Wallonia had for two weeks resisted huge pressure to back the deal until it won
concessions for regional farming interests and guarantees that international
investors will not be able to force governments to change laws.
Following
marathon talks led by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, the Walloons
finally agreed on Thursday evening, and a day later, Trudeau agreed to fly in
for the delayed signing.
The pact
required all EU member states to endorse it and in some cases such as Belgium's
for regional governments to agree too, giving tiny Wallonia an effective veto.
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Minister-President
of Belgium's Walloon Region Paul Magnette leaves the stage
after a speech about
the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
(CETA) (AFP Photo/Bruno
Fahy)
|
'Trojan
horse'
Concerns in
the declining industrialised region in Belgium's south reflect wider worries in
Europe about globalisation, as well as fears among activists that such deals erode
consumer, social and environmental protections.
On Sunday,
around 100 protesters banged drums and shouted slogans outside the European
Council building while Belgian riot police backed by water cannon looked on,
AFP reporters said.
The glass
front doors of the building were also daubed with red paint after some
protesters briefly managed to break through police lines, with a number of them
arrested.
The
activists also see CETA as a Trojan horse for the even larger -- and more
controversial -- deal between the EU and the United States.
Negotiations
for that deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(TTIP), have however stalled in recent weeks, and the goal of approving it by
the end of President Barack Obama's term in office now having been abandoned.
The troubles
with the Canadian deal have meanwhile been seen as a possible harbinger of
things to come for Britain as it tries to negotiate a new trade pact with the
EU after it leaves the bloc -- most likely in 2019.
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