EU & Canada Trade Deal on the brink of collapse - Wallonia in Belgium to blame.
26 replies, posted
[QUOTE]A trade deal between the EU and Canada is on the brink of collapse because a Belgian region with a population of just 3.6 million opposes it.
An emotional Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland left the talks in Brussels, saying the EU was "not capable" of signing a trade agreement.
Belgium, the only country blocking accord, needed consent from the regional parliament of Wallonia.
[B]The wide-ranging deal, seven years in the making, was to be signed next week.[/B][/QUOTE]
[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37731955[/URL]
The deal is opposed by various groups, including environmental activists, trade unionists and Austrian Socialists.
Sorry, but not sorry. I was one of the protesters in brussels.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51240564]Uhh, IDK if its only Wallonia:
That is like, yesterday.[/QUOTE]
Source? I can't see Romania or Bulgaria in here. It also goes on to say this:
[QUOTE]The failure to clinch the EU-Canada Ceta deal is an embarrassment for the EU. Wallonia, a region of just 3.6 million people, has all but scuppered a trade deal affecting 508 million Europeans and 36.3 million Canadians.
The European Commission says this blow does not mean that Ceta is over, but it also refuses to unpick the massive text that was agreed with Canada in 2014.
Any EU free trade deals with the US, China or India now look remote. Anti-globalisation groups, anxious to protect Europe's welfare and environmental standards, may feel they are winning the argument.
For now, any Ceta boost for small businesses and jobs has been postponed. The failure gives us a sense of how tough the Brexit talks will be, despite the UK's current alignment with its EU partners.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51240671]Wikipedia page of CETA[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-european-union-ceta-thursday-1.3813755"]And the Wikipedia source is this CBC News article.[/URL]
It states:
[quote]European media report, and Moisa confirms, that as of May 1, 2017, visa requirements would be lifted for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals who were issued Canadian visas over the last 10 years.
All other Romanian and Bulgarian nationals could travel visa-free before the end of 2017.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had several phone conversations with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts in recent weeks, trying to reassure the Europeans that they shouldn't hold back on CETA because the visa solution was close. But they expected their announcement long before now.[/quote]
I'm having a hard time understanding the "travel visa-free before the end of 2017" part for some reason, probably lack of sleep or something, but can you re-explain it for me?
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51240564]Uhh, IDK if its only Wallonia:
That is like, yesterday.[/QUOTE]
We got a deal with Canada yesterday, dunno about Bulgaria.
Belgium's fucking that up tho
[QUOTE]A trade deal between the EU and Canada is on the brink of collapse because a Belgian region with a population of just 3.6 million opposes it.[/QUOTE]
Okay, that sounds condescending as fuck considering I'm from that region (which still represents 2/5 of Belgium).
As far as I know, the concerns are valid however.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51241098]It is still 0.4% the pop of EU[/QUOTE]
Do you mean to imply that it wouldn't have mattered either if the whole of Belgium opposed it? Since it would only represent 1%.
[QUOTE=Loadingue;51241087]Okay, that sounds condescending as fuck considering I'm from that region (which still represents 2/5 of Belgium).
As far as I know, the concerns are valid however.[/QUOTE]
I didn't really follow this but from the Flemish side I'm hearing that there wouldnt be enough benefit for Wallonia, whereas Flanders could use the economic boost.
Almost like it's a form of "them vs us" between Flanders and Wallonia.
This is likely biased, though, so I'm curious to hear what the concerns are?
What does Walloon media say about this?
[QUOTE=Breny;51241169]I didn't really follow this but from the Flemish side I'm hearing that there wouldnt be enough benefit for Wallonia, whereas Flanders could use the economic boost.
This is likely biased, though, so I'm curious to hear what the concerns are?[/QUOTE]
Well, hearing it from Paul Magnette himself, I seem to remember he had similar concerns to those caused by the TTIP. I didn't follow news about either closely though, so I can't explain further.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51241228]It does matter as you see it, but you still kinda seem like a dick when all the other countries accept it.[/QUOTE]
Hey, I can agree with that though.
I'm wondering, how different are TTIP and CETA? Why do much fewer people oppose CETA?
So, this made me read up on CETA a bit and why people oppose it.
[url]http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/09/ttip-dying-ceta-new-analysis/[/url]
[url]https://www.cippguide.org/2012/09/11/ceta-privacy-issues/[/url]
[url]https://stop-ttip.org/what-is-the-problem-ttip-ceta/[/url]
I'm not entirely sure how true all of these claims and concerns are.
If they're even half true, then I can't say I disagree with Wallonia here.
Good on you guys for not being pressured into giving in, especially if you're not convinced it's the right choice.
I wish Canada would be closer to the EU and far away from the USA/NAFTA but unfortunately our trade laws are almost as bad as America's now.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;51242372]I wish Canada would be closer to the EU and far away from the USA/NAFTA but unfortunately our trade laws are almost as bad as America's now.[/QUOTE]
Sorry :saddowns:
[QUOTE=Deathtrooper2;51242605]Sorry :saddowns:[/QUOTE]
yes and it's all you're fault
[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;51242836]yes and it's all you're fault[/QUOTE]
what about all those jobs we sent you? its not our fault you also sent them to mexico.
i hope the failure of tpp, ttip and ceta will be a lesson to all governments in the west on how much control of the negotiation processes big moneyed corporate interests should have. they had unprecedented access to the table for these treaties and look, unsuprisingly nobody that reads these deals wants them to pass
[QUOTE=Sableye;51243837]what about all those jobs we sent you? its not our fault you also sent them to mexico.
i hope the failure of tpp, ttip and ceta will be a lesson to all governments in the west on how much control of the negotiation processes big moneyed corporate interests should have. they had unprecedented access to the table for these treaties and look, unsuprisingly nobody that reads these deals wants them to pass[/QUOTE]
Yes but its still Deathtrooper2 fault
[url]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37749236[/url]
Apparently Belgium has formally renounced to signing CETA. CETA's fucked for now.
Yup,its surprising how few media attention this gets in europe though.
[QUOTE=Loadingue;51252895][url]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37749236[/url]
Apparently Belgium has formally renounced to signing CETA. CETA's fucked for now.[/QUOTE]
Good.
[QUOTE=Blizzerd;51252931]Yup,its surprising how few media attention this gets in europe though.[/QUOTE]
TTIP got zero attention too until last moments (on TV and mainstream media)
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.