Brussels, 26/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - At the EU-Canada summit in Ottawa on Friday 26 September, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper celebrated the conclusion of the strategic partnership agreement and the comprehensive economic trade agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU.
“This summit marks the start of a new era in EU-Canada relations. The trade agreement will greatly increase trade and investment between us, thus creating jobs and stimulating growth everywhere in Canada and the EU”, Harper was pleased to state at the end of the summit. In a similar way to their Canadian host, Barroso and Van Rompuy were full of praise for the scope of the two bilateral agreements concluded this summer - particularly the CETA which, once in force, is expected to boost bilateral trade by 23% (in other words, by nearly €26 billion).
On Friday, the leaders of the two sides nevertheless carefully avoided the controversy regarding the inclusion of a clause in the CETA on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), and the threat made by Germany's Minister for the Economy Sigmar Gabriel before the Bundestag on 25 September for a request for the agreement to be renegotiated. “We must try to renegotiate (…) The chapter on the protection of investments is not acceptable as it stands, in Germany's eyes”, Gabriel had stated.
“President Van Rompuy and I have signed a joint statement with Prime Minster Harper that has been fully supported by all the member states - including Germany, which welcomes this historic agreement and wants to conclude its ratification as soon as possible. Up until now, the communication that we received from Germany was fully in favour of this agreement, and it would be strange for it to be otherwise as it is the country that will benefit from it the most, since it is the EU's biggest exporter. We understand that there may be several opinions and we respect this. Now it is up to the governments of Europe to take the final decision. I believe that this is the best agreement possible that we can have and I have no doubt that this agreement will be validated by all our member states. I expect this agreement to be signed in 2015 and in force in 2016”, Barroso told press. (EH)