European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker — shown here at right with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November — has taken the EU’s free trade pact with Canada off the fast track by allowing each EU member nation’s parliament to ratify the deal. (PM.gc.ca)

EU bows to pressure, gives member parliaments say in Canada trade deal

Brussels | Reuters –– The European Commission bowed to pressure to give Europe’s parliaments the right to ratify a landmark free-trade deal with Canada, a decision meant to address public concerns but which could wreck Europe’s broader trade strategy. In the face of popular suspicion about secretive trade deals benefiting big companies, Commission President Jean-Claude […] Read more




Prime Minister Stephen Harper, shown here last October in Brussels with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, is now under criticism for what’s described as a “premature” announcement of a free trade deal. (PM.gc.ca)

Deal or no deal? EU-Canada FTA seen faltering at final hurdle

Brussels/Ottawa | Reuters — Canada and the European Union are struggling to finalize a multibillion-dollar trade pact six months after political leaders said it was sealed, an embarrassment for Brussels as it seeks a far bigger deal with the U.S. Over a celebratory lunch last October, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission President […] Read more

Europe’s fear of U.S. hormones, GMOs sows divide in trade talks

Brussels | Reuters — Europe’s reluctance to buy hormone meat or genetically modified (GM) food from the U.S. has exposed an “enormous gulf” that threatens the world’s biggest trade pact, industry and labour groups told EU and U.S. negotiators Wednesday. Eight months into talks to create a transatlantic pact encompassing almost half the world’s economy, […] Read more



EU, Canada near trade pact after breaking impasse

The European Union and Canada are expected to close negotiations on a multi-billion-dollar trade deal on Friday that will integrate two of the world’s biggest economies — if they can overcome final disagreements ranging from medicine patents to feta cheese. Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will meet at […] Read more