Canadian delegation staying home as Canada-EU trade pact in limbo
Posted October 26, 2016 8:47 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A spokesman for the minister of international trade says a Canadian delegation would not be heading off to Europe on Wednesday to sign what would be a landmark trade deal with the European Union.
But Alex Lawrence, the spokesman, says in a release that Canada is ready to sign the Canada-EU trade deal whenever Europe is ready.
The release late Wednesday came shortly after news from Europe that Belgium had failed to make decisive headway to lift a crucial veto of the trade deal by one of its regions, Wallonia.
The trade deal was scheduled to be signed Thursday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a special summit with EU leaders.
Recalcitrant Francophone leaders insisted late Wednesday they would need more time to study and approve the latest compromise texts following talks with the Belgian national government, which desperately wants to sign the trans-Atlantic deal.
The 28-nation EU can only sign the agreement if it has unanimity among its 28 member states and Belgium can only approve it is all its regional executives back it.
