Speaking to the European Parliament on Thursday 22 March, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that the "next steps" of the full implementation of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) are mapped out. CETA entered into force provisionally on 21 September 2017.
She stated that the European Commission and Canadian government are working on three areas: the establishment of the institutional framework provided for in CETA, the improvement of the effectiveness of the arrangements on sustainable development, and the establishment of the arbitration court for investment disputes (Ed: which is based on the new Investment Court System – ICS).
"The ratification of the agreement on the national level is on track. It will be a long process. But this can be completed successfully if the member states see the advantages of this agreement", she added.
CETA will be fully applied when all the EU member states have ratified it in line with their respective constitutional obligations, paving the way for the implementation of the ICS.
Currently, eight countries have notified the Council of the ratification of CETA by their national parliament: Latvia, Denmark, Malta, Croatia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal.
The first meeting of the EU-Canada ministerial committee assessed the progress of the provisional implementation of the political cooperation agreement – the strategic partnership agreement (SPA) – since 1 April 2017, and of CETA since 21 September (see EUROPE 11918). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)