Brussels, 08/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a resolution adopted in plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 8 June, the European Parliament (EP) welcomed the progress made in negotiations between the EU and Canada on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) which, in addition to trade in goods, will cover intellectual property and investment. Access to the public contracts of Canadian provincial and territorial authorities, extraction of oil from tar sands, intellectual property rights (IPR) and the trade in seal products remain, however, major stumbling blocks in the view of MEPs.
Canada's federal structure poses some difficulties for MEPs who encourage the provinces and territories to formulate “explicit commitments” and to “synchronise policies and procedures”, as they will be responsible for implementing any agreement.
Another area of concern is intellectual property. On the one hand, the draft resolution demands considerable concessions from Canada, particularly on geographic indications. On the other, MEPs say that the chapter on IPR should not have a negative effect on the production of generic medicines.
With regard to the chapter on investment, the EP regrets that the Commission and Council did not wait for it to adopt its position before beginning negotiations with Canada on future EU investment policy. The Commission is called on, therefore, to take full account of EP conclusions in this area.
In terms of the environment, including the issue of extraction of oil from tar sands, MEPs call for CETA negotiations not to weaken EU legislation on fuel quality and for the agreement not to hamper stricter Canadian legislation on tar oil. The resolution also underlines the seriousness of the impact on the health of workers of asbestos mining. The use and processing of asbestos have already been banned in the EU. MEPs hope that the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel on banning the trade in seal products, which have been banned in the EU, will not have a negative effect on negotiations. While awaiting the Commission's final position on maintaining the ban in place, the EP hopes that Canada will withdraw its complaint to the WTO before MEPs have to decide on whether to ratify the agreement. (E.H./transl.rt)