EU Battles to Save Canada Trade Pact Amid Belgian Hurdle
- Split in Belgium may hinder green light at EU meeting Tuesday
- Walloon leader says accord puts region ‘under severe pressure’
The European Union’s draft free-trade agreement with Canada hung in the balance on Monday as Belgium continued its scramble to overcome a domestic political split that may prevent EU governments from giving their green light to the deal.
The Belgian government is still seeking authority to sign off on the EU-Canada accord from the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia, which wants the pact reopened to add safeguards and refused to back down during talks over the weekend. The stalemate threatens to spoil a meeting on Tuesday of EU trade ministers that is meant to mark the first step in the European ratification process of what is the bloc’s first commercial agreement with a fellow member of the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries.