After several days of heated debates, the French National Assembly ratified the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada on Tuesday, 23 July, by 266 votes in favour and 213 against.
For MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (RE, France), "the ratification of CETA by the National Assembly is good news".
"We will not lower our guard with regard to monitoring its implementation and we will ensure that no malfunctions occur. It is important that the environmental and climate provisions of the agreement be strengthened", she said.
For Mrs Vedrenne, it is "fundamental that the European Parliament and national parliaments be more involved in the negotiation of EU trade agreements", she told EUROPE.
However, the French delegation of the S&D Group in the European Parliament considered that this was no less than a betrayal of the Paris Agreement and the commitments of La République en Marche to fight climate change.
"The French MEPs of the S&D group are not opposed to trade. They want to put the latter at the service of society and the common good", they stressed in the same press release, calling for "a new trade policy that reverses the current hierarchy of priorities to uphold ambitious and binding environmental, climate, social, fiscal and human rights criteria that protect citizens, workers and our planet".
Half of the EU member states have now ratified the treaty (see EUROPE 12285/6) It should be recalled that, in order to fully implement the agreement, ratification by all Member States is essential. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)