Luxembourg, 18/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 18 October, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, reached agreement in principle on the main aspects of a broad economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada. Various legal and technical details remain to be sorted out, but both sides are already proclaiming the advantages. The agreement will boost bilateral trade by 23% or nearly €26 billion. Barroso told reporters that for the EU, this would mean GDP growth of €12 billion a year.
After ten months of foot-dragging in talks on the final package (95% of the agreement had already been reached in December 2012) and after the breakdown of talks between Commissioner Karel De Gucht and his Canadian counterpart Ed Fast in February, the direct involvement of Barroso and Harper in recent months enabled the sides to strike a compromise on the most controversial aspect of the deal - farming.
In the end, Canada agreed to double the quota of European cheese it will import duty-free, in exchange for greater access to the EU market for Canadian pork and beef. The EU has been reassured about protection of its geographical indications for different types of European cheese.
The CETA will scrap more than 99% of customs duty on trade between the EU and Canada and will establish important opportunities in access to the market for financial services, telecoms, transport and energy in particular, along with investment opportunities. Canada has made commitments at federal level on public procurement and has opened up provincial markets to bids from European companies to an extent never seen before, explains the Commission.
The agreement brings intellectual property rights in Canada closer to those in force in the EU, which will be of benefit to the European pharma industry and exporters of agricultural products with a special denomination of geographical origin.
The EU and Canada have agreed on sustainable development in the sense of ensuring that trade and investment does not damage the environment. (EH/transl.fl)