The European Union has given Belgium until late on Monday to overcome opposition to a free trade deal with Canada from its French-speaking region or a summit to sign the pact that could boost both economies is off, EU sources said on Sunday.
EU trade negotiators are rushing to assuage the Walloon government’s concerns before the Monday deadline set by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to decide whether to fly to Brussels, according sources familiar with the matter.
Canada says it is ready to sign the pact as planned on Thursday and year-long negotiations were over, with trade minister Chrystia Freeland saying “the ball is in the EU court.”
All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from its five sub-federal administrations.
READ MORE: ‘Ball is in Europe’s court’ for Canada-EU trade deal, says Chrystia Freeland
French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it, saying the deal is bad for Europe’s farmers and gives too much power to global corporate interests.
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In a last ditch bid to secure Walloon backing, EU trade officials are offering to tweaks to a political declaration appended to the treaty, an EU source said.
Many EU leaders suspect the local government in Namur is using its devolved powers to play domestic politics. “This is first of all an inner-Belgian matter,” an EU source said.
READ MORE: CETA: Canada-EU trade talks fall apart in Belgium as Trade Minister Freeland walks out
Walloon Socialist leader Elio Di Rupo, one of the most vocal opponents of the deal, cast doubt an agreement could be reached next week.
“They took years to negotiate #CETA and we are refused a few weeks,” Di Rupo, a former Belgian prime minister, tweeted on Sunday. “Will we reach a solution? All depends on the contents. If it doesn’t change enough, we will maintain our opposition.”
European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs the collective body of the EU’s leaders, will speak to Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel by late on Monday, EU sources said, before informing Trudeau‘s government of the state of play.
“If Michel says he is not in a position to confirm that Belgium will be able to sign on Thursday, then we won’t have the summit,” a source said.
If postponed, no new summit date will be set, although the source said neither the EU nor Canada is willing to give up on a free trade pact that has been years in the making.
The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, the EU’s 12th-largest trading partner.
If CETA fails, the EU’s hopes of completing similar deals with the United States or Japan would be in tatters, undermining a bloc already battered by Britain’s vote to leave and disputes over Europe’s migration crisis.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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