AFP, Strasbourg :
The European Parliament holds a landmark vote Wednesday on a contested EU-Canada free trade deal amid rising anti-globalisation sentiment in Europe.
If MEPs back the pact, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to address the parliament in Strasbourg, France on Thursday.
The EU and Canada formally signed the deal in October after seven years of tough talks, overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that blocked its national government from approving the accord.
EU leaders hopes for a symbolic show of support from the parliament for an imperilled global trade system that also faces a threat from the protectionist US President Donald Trump.
But opponents to the accord, which is known as CETA, delivered a petition to parliament with three and a half million signatures, slamming the deal as a danger to health, democracy and the rule of law.
Despite the pushback, the deal is widely expected to pass, with votes by conservatives, liberals and a divided socialist bloc seen as enough to get it through.
“CETA is the best trade agreement the EU has ever concluded. It will bring Canada and Europe even closer together,” said German MEP Manfred Weber, the head of the conservative EPP group, the parliament’s biggest bloc.
The European Parliament holds a landmark vote Wednesday on a contested EU-Canada free trade deal amid rising anti-globalisation sentiment in Europe.
If MEPs back the pact, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to address the parliament in Strasbourg, France on Thursday.
The EU and Canada formally signed the deal in October after seven years of tough talks, overcoming last-minute resistance from a small Belgian region that blocked its national government from approving the accord.
EU leaders hopes for a symbolic show of support from the parliament for an imperilled global trade system that also faces a threat from the protectionist US President Donald Trump.
But opponents to the accord, which is known as CETA, delivered a petition to parliament with three and a half million signatures, slamming the deal as a danger to health, democracy and the rule of law.
Despite the pushback, the deal is widely expected to pass, with votes by conservatives, liberals and a divided socialist bloc seen as enough to get it through.
“CETA is the best trade agreement the EU has ever concluded. It will bring Canada and Europe even closer together,” said German MEP Manfred Weber, the head of the conservative EPP group, the parliament’s biggest bloc.
