Brussels, 25/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a draft resolution adopted by 21 votes in favour and three against on Wednesday 25 May, the committee on international trade of the European Parliament welcomes the progress made in negotiations for a complete economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada which, in addition to trade in goods, will cover intellectual property and investment. Access to public procurement contracts of the provincial and territorial authorities of Canada, the extraction of oil from tar sands, intellectual property rights (IPR) and trade in whale products, however, are still considerable obstacles to an agreement in the view of the MEPs.
The federal structure of Canada is a problematic issue for the MEPs, who encourage the provinces and territories to make “explicit commitments” and “synchronise their policies and procedures”, as they will be responsible for the application of the future agreement.
Another cause for concern is intellectual property. On the one hand, the draft resolution calls for strict concessions on the part of Canada, particularly as regards geographical indications. On the other, the MEPs are calling for the chapter on IPR to have a neutral impact on the production of generics.
On the chapter on investment, the international trade committee criticises the fact that the Commission and the Council did not wait for the Parliament before deciding on their stance on the future of the EU's policy on investment before starting negotiations with Canada. The European executive is therefore called upon fully to take account of the Parliament's conclusions on this dossier.
Lastly, on the environmental aspects, particularly the question of extracting oil from tar sands, the MEPs stress that negotiations for the CETA must not affect the EU's right to legislate in its directive on the quality of fuel, nor affect the ability of the Canadian authorities to present future environmental standards on the extraction of tar oil. The trade committee is also calling for a dispute settlement panel to be set up at the WTO to rule on the controversial dossier of the EU's ban on whale products. (E.H./transl.fl)