After days of bitter talks in Brussels and Namur, the Canadian trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, threw in the towel on Friday afternoon, 21 October, saying that the talks with the parliament and government of the Walloon region of Belgium over their approval for the EU-Canada free-trade deal (CETA), which it had been hoped to see signed at an EU-Canada summit in Brussels on 27 October had failed.
Her spokesperson said that Freeland had left the negotiations with the Walloons and was returning to Canada, stating that the talks had not been successful.
Freeland told reporters that, over recent months, she had worked hard with the European Commission and many EU member states, but “it’s become evident for me, for Canada, that the European Union isn’t capable now to have an international treaty even with a country that has very European values like Canada. And even with a country so nice, with a lot of patience like Canada”. She was on the verge of tears when she left the Walloon government headquarters in Namur, where she had been in lengthy talks with the head of the Walloon government, Paul Magnette.
She said Canada was disappointed and she was very disappointed: “I’ve worked very, very hard, but I think it’s impossible. We have decided to return home. I am very sad. It is emotional for me”
A source close to the European Commission said as we were going to press that the talks which had started early in the morning with the government of the Walloon region had been ended, but the Commission did not see this as the end of the process that would pave the way for signature of the EU-Canada agreement.
Earlier, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said after the European Summit that the European Commission was working with Canada on a document and he still hoped that, in a few days’ time, they would agree a solution with their Walloon friends because he felt that CETA is the best trade deal ever concluded by the EU.
Juncker commented sarcastically that, when the EU concluded a trade agreement with Vietnam, which is well-known globally for applying all democratic principles, nobody protested, but when an agreement is reached with Canada, which is a proven dictatorship, everybody gets upset and says that we are not respecting human or social rights.
After the summit, Tusk said the problem with CETA and Wallonia today is not related to any dilemma or formal or technical issue. He said a political connotation was visible, relating to Belgium’s domestic politics, rather than an international issue.
The EU’s leaders were particularly disappointed at Friday lunchtime because Bulgaria and Romania are now prepared to life their reservations about the EU signing CETA following an agreement on easing the Canadian visa system for their passport-holders.
Juncker said that with Bulgaria, Romania and Canada, they had worked hard to find a solution to the problem of Canadian restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians. He said they had a solution that would enable the visa requirements for Bulgarians and Romanians to be lifted on 1 December 2017 although Canada would not initially consider this.
Warsaw says it shares Wallonia’s doubts. Polish secretary of state for European affairs Konrad Szymanski set the cat amongst the pigeons at the end of the summit by saying he shared the doubts expressed by the Walloon government and parliament. Szymanski told reporters that Belgium, Wallonia, just like Poland, expect from this process proper guarantees for their sovereignty, guarantees for standards in the domain of agricultural production. And Poland shares their doubts and will only open the way for signature of the agreement when these guarantees, which are currently being negotiated, are sufficiently solid and sustainable to give certainty that the agreement will not have undesired side effects. In this, Poland understands the political meaning of this situation that is being faced, added Szymansk, pointing out that these are issues that have a universal significance and are not restricted to Belgium.
Concerns about Brexit talks. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said that Belgium was the only country not giving its go-ahead and this was a delicate situation for Belgium and for the credibility of Europe. He said he was well aware that there is a concern about what this means for the future of the European project. It could also mean that the talks with the United Kingdom about its exit from the EU will be just as complex. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, toned this down, saying that the CETA talks had not made her think of Brexit as the UK first has to make a formal request to leave under Article 50. (Emmanuel Hagry with the editorial team)