EU Council to Formally Approve CETA Deal With Canada by Saturday

© AP Photo / Virginia MayoEuropean Union headquarters is reflected in the windows of the EU Council building prior to an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
European Union headquarters is reflected in the windows of the EU Council building prior to an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. - Sputnik International
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The European Council intends to formally approve the signing of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) before Saturday, the Slovak EU Council Presidency said.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Earlier on Thursday, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said that the European Union and Belgium had reached a common position on signing CETA trade deal.

Demonstrators protest against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA, a planned EU-Canada free trade agreement, outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 27, 2016. - Sputnik International
People in Brussels Gather to Protest Against CETA Trade Deal
​Brussels and Ottawa were expected to sign the free trade deal at a joint summit on Thursday, but Belgium’s region of Wallonia refused to give the country its approval to sign the deal. Under the Belgian legislation, every region has a right to reject the accord.

CETA, if approved, would eliminate the vast majority of the existing tariffs between the European Union and Canada, but the opponents fear that it would negatively affect standards and regulations on environmental protection, health, safety and workers' rights.

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