MEPs still divided over EU-Canada trade deal
Xinhua 2014-09-18
MEPs still divided over EU-Canada trade deal
STRASBOURG, Sept. 17 — Divisions were evident in a European Parliament (EP) debate Wednesday on a proposed trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada.
EU trade negotiators are seeking access to the Canadian public procurement market. In the debate with EU trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, held during the EP plenary session in Strasbourg, many members (MEPs) stressed the need to win access to new markets for EU firms to offset their loss of business with Russia resulting from the recently imposed embargo by the Russian government.
However, a number of MEPs voiced concerns, particularly over the ’investor-to-state dispute settlement clause,’ which could enable investors to sue national governments over policies perceived as harmful to business.
This remains a major sticking point in the on-going Transatlantic Trade and Investment Package being negotiated with the United States. Some political groups are calling for it to be removed, arguing that it should not be needed in a deal between two mature judicial systems and could be abused by multinationals seeking to sue governments over legitimate policies, such as smoking bans or cutting down on nuclear energy.
The formal conclusion of the talks will be announced in the EU-Canada summit in Ottawa on September 26 this year. The EP will be asked to approve the deal in mid 2015.
Negotiators argue that the agreement would free up EU-Canada trade in most areas, boosting bilateral trade in goods and services by 25.7 billion euros (33.3 billion U.S. dollars) and could lead to GDP gains for the EU of up to 11.6 billion euros a year.
