AFP, Brussels :
EU nations approved a landmark free-trade deal with Canada late Friday, clearing the way for its signing after a drama that saw Belgian regions threaten to torpedo years of negotiations.
“Mission accomplished!” European Union president Donald Tusk tweeted, announcing that the deal would be signed at a summit in Brussels on Sunday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Canadian premier wrote back on Twitter: “Great news and I’m looking forward to being there.”
In a phone call with Tusk, he hailed the deal as “a good sign in an uncertain world”, an EU source said.
Trudeau also tweeted applause for Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s trade minister, thanking her for her “skill and dedication in negotiating a deal to grow Canada’s middle class and strengthen our economy”.
Officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the deal removes 99 percent of customs duties between the two sides, linking the single EU market of 500 million people with the world’s 10th largest economy.
Sunday’s signing summit will begin at 0930 GMT, with the signing due at 1100 GMT, Tusk’s spokesman Preben Aamann said on Twitter.
Just days ago the CETA deal-the most ambitious ever negotiated by the EU- had been hanging by a thread due to protests from Belgium’s Wallonia region and other French-speaking communities over its potential damage to local interests.
The trade agreement requires all 28 EU member states to endorse it and in some cases-as in Belgium-regional governments also have to give their approval, meaning Wallonia and the other holdouts were effectively blocking the deal.
Trudeau had been due to arrive in Brussels on Thursday to sign the deal but that had to be called off, with leaders including Tusk warning that the debacle was further damaging EU credibility following Britain’s shock vote to leave the bloc.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel held marathon talks in a bid to win the holdout regions over, finally announcing Thursday that the two sides had reached a deal.
EU nations approved a landmark free-trade deal with Canada late Friday, clearing the way for its signing after a drama that saw Belgian regions threaten to torpedo years of negotiations.
“Mission accomplished!” European Union president Donald Tusk tweeted, announcing that the deal would be signed at a summit in Brussels on Sunday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Canadian premier wrote back on Twitter: “Great news and I’m looking forward to being there.”
In a phone call with Tusk, he hailed the deal as “a good sign in an uncertain world”, an EU source said.
Trudeau also tweeted applause for Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s trade minister, thanking her for her “skill and dedication in negotiating a deal to grow Canada’s middle class and strengthen our economy”.
Officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the deal removes 99 percent of customs duties between the two sides, linking the single EU market of 500 million people with the world’s 10th largest economy.
Sunday’s signing summit will begin at 0930 GMT, with the signing due at 1100 GMT, Tusk’s spokesman Preben Aamann said on Twitter.
Just days ago the CETA deal-the most ambitious ever negotiated by the EU- had been hanging by a thread due to protests from Belgium’s Wallonia region and other French-speaking communities over its potential damage to local interests.
The trade agreement requires all 28 EU member states to endorse it and in some cases-as in Belgium-regional governments also have to give their approval, meaning Wallonia and the other holdouts were effectively blocking the deal.
Trudeau had been due to arrive in Brussels on Thursday to sign the deal but that had to be called off, with leaders including Tusk warning that the debacle was further damaging EU credibility following Britain’s shock vote to leave the bloc.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel held marathon talks in a bid to win the holdout regions over, finally announcing Thursday that the two sides had reached a deal.
