MEP: New agreement cooperation Canada good news

Member of the European Parliament Marietje Schaake is glad that the final details have been worked out of the trade agreement between Canada and the EU, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The text has been undergoing a legal check for more than a year and now the procedure for ratification can finally start. Schaake: "The new liberal government in Canada has shown great commitment to improving the cooperation with Europe. Now that the text has finally been given the green light, it is important to quickly proceed with the ratification procedure. If the agreement can enter into force, Europeans and Canadians will feel the positive effect." Economic cooperation CETA strengthens economic cooperation between the EU and Canada and makes sure that there are increased opportunities for European companies in Canada. Schaake: "This trade agreement makes sure that tariffs disappear and procedures become more transparent and predictable. An essential benefit for Europe is that European companies will have more access to government procurement in Canada, which is currently not the case. Canada's economy is bigger than Russia's and is an important market for European companies. Together with Canada we can work together to strengthen the international rules-based trading system en set high global standards." Investment protection In the discussions on CETA, investment protection is often cited as a difficult issue. During the legal check, this issue has been excessively assessed. Schaake: "Under the leadership of a new liberal government, Canada has done concessions to the EU in order to implement far reaching reforms of investment protection in CETA and to make it more transparent, fair and more legitimate. We do not want secret courts that allow companies to put pressure on European rules and regulations . The biggest problem is that EU member states do have 1,300 other treaties with the outdated ISDS in it. Those need to be reformed. Together with the Canadians and other international players, we need to work on an international court modelled on the World Trade Organisation as a solution. CETA is a step in that direction." Now that the final text for CETA is on the table, the agreement will have to be ratified by the Member States, the European Parliament and the Canadian Parliament before it can enter into force. More information on the content can be found here.