On Monday 31 July, the French constitutional council approved the economic and trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA), considering it to be compatible with the French constitution.
In its decision, the constitutional council said that CETA (which was signed on 30 October 2016 and ratified by the European Parliament on 15 February, but which has not yet been ratified by the national parliaments of the 28 EU member states) did not require a review of the constitution.
More than 60 French deputies had appealed to the constitutional court, challenging whether CETA complied with the French constitution in four areas: the essential conditions for exercising national sovereignty; the principle of independence and impartiality of judges (in the framework of the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism provided for in the agreement); the principle of equality before the law; and the non-respect of the precautionary principle.
CETA will be implemented provisionally from 21 September and will enter into force definitively once all the EU member state parliaments have ratified the text of the agreement, in line with the requirements of their respective constitutions. The provisional entry into force mainly involves the arrangements relating to the EU's exclusive competence.
The French government appointed an expert group in the beginning of July, which is responsible for assessing the impact of CETA on the environment and health (see EUROPE 11824). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)