Belgium Reaches Deal on EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement

Belgium resolved an internal deadlock over the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada on Thursday, Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters in Brussels. "An agreement" has been found, Michel said after the latest round of negotiations to win over holdouts in Belgium's French-speaking communities who used a veto to hold up the deal. 

    Belgian parliaments now have until midnight (2200 UTC) on Friday to give their go-ahead for their country to approve the deal, Michel said. "We have finally found an agreement among the Belgians that will now be submitted to European institutions and our European partners," Magnette said. "Wallonia is extremely happy that our demands were heard," said Paul Magnette, the president of the southern, French-speaking Wallonia region. 

    Donald Tusk, president of the European Council and host of the planned EU-Canada summit praised the Belgian agreement, saying he would contact Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "once all procedures are finalized for EU signing CETA."