Belgium can’t support trade deal with Canada (CETA), it was announced by Prime Minister Charles Michel after Belgium’s regional leaders were unable to reach an accord on Monday.
Belgium’s French-speaking Wallonia region opposes the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which needs the unanimous support of all 28 EU nations to be approved.
Thus, Belgium’s prime minister Charles Michel had no power to sign the trade agreement.
CETA should normally be signed on Thursday during an EU-Canada summit in Brussels, but the signing will not go through due to continued resistance from French-speaking Belgium. As a result, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will likely not attend the European summit.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker made it clear that CETA will remain on the table, to which Michel responded that he is “open to further discussion.”