The German Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) will rule on October 13 on a complaint filed by a group of activists aimed at scuppering a trade deal between the European Union and Canada.
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European Union trade ministers meet tomorrow in an attempt to breath life into the transatlantic trade agreement with the United States, though pundits and many politicians say the controversial plan, which has faced continent-wide protests, is already past saving. Police put the number at 6,000.
“It is about time to conclude, to bring [CETA] home, to make sure that we can seize all the opportunities”, said Markus Beyrer, head of BusinessEurope, an advocacy group representing European businesses. “This will be a shock to agriculture”, said farmer Stephane Delogne.
Another target for protesters is the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a planned service sector deal between 23 countries or blocs, including the United States and Pakistan.
Two large inflatable horses had been placed outside the Commission headquarters, one labeled TTIP, the other CETA.
While there is wide support for CETA, some countries claim it has numerous same problems as TTIP.
The EU and U.S. began negotiating TTIP in 2013, aiming to create the world’s biggest free trade market of 850 million consumers.
It is feared the deals will undermine food, environment and labor standards if enforced.
There is a growing popular backlash in the West against free trade and globalisation, which critics blame for factory closures and depressed wages. After that, France and Germany hold general elections, and no big movement appears likely before the formation of a new government, sometime around the end of 2017.
Trade ministers will consider how to breathe fresh life into the almost concluded EU-Canada free-trade agreement, and will debate whether it’s time to quit talks on the more controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (Ttip) pact with the US.
They also say CETA proponents have overemphasized the prospect of higher economic growth due to increased trade and investment, noting that those projections rely on full employment and no negative impact on income distribution.
Senior European officials say there is little likelihood of a deal before President Barack Obama leaves office next January – the deadline set by negotiators in Brussels and Washington.
Cecilia Malmström, the European Union commissioner for trade, warned on Tuesday that reaching that deadline “became less likely as time went on”.
“There will be a treaty with the USA but maybe after a natural pause to give time to a new administration”, Malmstroem told RTBF radio in Belgium.
Business also strongly backs the deal with Canada.
The ministers themselves are expected now to convene an extraordinary meeting on October 18, allowing the deal to be signed during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Brussels on October 27.
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When the CETA was agreed two years ago, just-style was told it had the potential to increase the EU’s garment exports to Canada by more than 91%.
