On Wednesday 23 November, the European Parliament rejected (by 419 votes against, 258 in favour and 22 abstentions) the proposal for a resolution supported by 89 MEPs from the Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and EFDD Groups, as well as a few MEPs from the S&D and EPP Groups (French and Belgian members from the S&D, and French from the EPP), calling for the EU-Canada free trade agreement (CETA), which was signed on 30 October, to be sent to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) for an opinion, thus paving the way for the vote on ratification of the agreement by the Parliament in December.
The objective of those who promoted this resolution was to check the conformity of CETA’s arrangements on the protection of investors – and of its new arbitration mechanism for disputes between investors and states – with the right of governments to regulate in order to pursue legitimate public policy objectives, such as health protection, security and the environment.
“Our legal experts said that CETA has no effect on our legal framework, on the competencies of the EU or on our constitutional rights. This agreement provides an answer to our concerns regarding globalisation without causing problems for democracy”, the rapporteur on CETA, Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany) stated.
The Parliament’s legal service did not find any contradiction between the CETA chapter on investment and the treaties of the EU when it assessed this issue last June.
Under the Parliament’s rules of procedure (Article 108), the competent committee, a political group or at least a tenth of members can propose that the Parliament asks the CJEU for an opinion on the compatibility of an international agreement with the treaties before the vote of consent for this agreement.
CETA will be put to the vote in the international trade committee on 5 December and to the vote of the plenary in December.
Liberals pleased. "We have extensively discussed and scrutinised this agreement since the process started many years ago. CETA as negotiated will not only open new opportunities for European businesses in Canada but also reinforce EU standards in the global context. It is in all our interests to ratify CETA and allow for its provisional application. The Investment Court System (ICS) will not be applied until all national parliaments have ratified it. EU institutions, member states and the Canadian government all agree this is the best way forward. Any further delays will undermine the EU's credibility and ability to negotiate trade agreements", said leader of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt.
Greens counting on Belgium. "We are extremely disappointed. Given the huge controversy around CETA, and the doubts as to its compatibility with the EU treaties, there is reason to ask for the opinion of the CJEU. As the German constitutional court stated, the legality of the regulatory cooperation can be questioned. What is more, the ICS arbitration tribunals could also prove to be incompatible with EU law for three reasons: infringement of the competences of EU jurisdictions, discrimination and inequality between defendants, and a challenge to the EU's internal market", said Yannick Jadot (Greens/EFA, France). "Despite the Parliament's decision, an opinion of the CJEU is still possible and necessary. We therefore call on the Belgian government to respect the agreement with Wallonia and to ask for the opinion of the CJEU", he added.
Civil society regrets. The MEPS supporting the resolution that went unheeded on Wednesday are not alone in their fight. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and environmental NGOs Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and Transport & Environment (T&E) all deplore the Parliament's rejection of the call to clarify CETA's legal status, despite the "serious concerns" expressed against it by many academics and judges' associations, among others – particularly on the legality of the investment protection system provided for in the agreement. "The Parliament continues on its dangerous path of accelerating this controversial agreement. It is not taking its role seriously", said Friends of the Earth. "This refusal of the Parliament is an abdication of its responsibility", said T&E. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)