Belgium’s Wallonia region could burn CETA deal

Ceta, the trade agreement between Eu and Canada, could go in flame. Today, International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland's efforts to convince the holdout Belgian region of Wallonia to agree to the European Union's wide-ranging free trade deal with Canada have ended without a resolution.
All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from five sub-federal administrations and French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it. Wallonia counts about 3.5 million people, less than 1% of the 507 million Europeans CETA would affect. The deal aims to eliminate 98% of tariffs between Canada and EU.

Wallonia President Paul Magnette said "difficulties remain," notably the politically sensitive issue of how multinational corporations could challenge states under the deal. Magnette said he hoped to meet Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland again on Friday. The two met on Wednesday.

"We'll see how we can modify the text that we were given," he added. The agreement should be signed on October 27 during an official ceremony in Bruxelles, but now, after 7-year negotiations, doubts are rising.