{"id":82219,"date":"2016-10-16T09:27:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T13:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=82219"},"modified":"2016-10-16T09:27:24","modified_gmt":"2016-10-16T13:27:24","slug":"canada-eu-keep-pressure-walloons-abandon-opposition-trade-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/10\/16\/canada-eu-keep-pressure-walloons-abandon-opposition-trade-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada, EU keep pressure on Walloons to abandon opposition to trade deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"In<\/a>
In a letter dated Friday, the heads of the Canada-Europe roundtable told Paul Magnette (in photo) that Belgium will be to blame if the agreement fails. (Photo: Dean Calma via IAEA Imagebank\/Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OTTAWA\u2014Canadian and European politicians are continuing to lobby a Belgian region this weekend to abandon its opposition to a coveted free trade deal before a key meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

They have warned the leader of Wallonia that failure to approve the agreement would cast a pall over Canada-EU relations and affect the European Union’s credibility as a trading partner.<\/p>\n

In a letter dated Friday, the heads of the Canada-Europe roundtable also told Paul Magnette that Belgium will be to blame if the agreement fails.<\/p>\n

Europe’s ability to unanimously approve the deal was dealt a setback Friday when the legislature of Wallonia voted to reject the deal.<\/p>\n

Ministers from all 28 EU countries must unanimously approve the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Belgian government can’t move forward without Wallonia’s support because the country’s constitution grants a potential veto to its three regional governments.<\/p>\n

On Friday Canada dispatched its special envoy, Pierre Pettigrew, to meet with Magnette to persuade him to back away from his pledge to withhold his region’s support from Belgium.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other Canadian officials have said they’re confident the trade agreement will make it through.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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