CETA: MEPs pave the way for vote on EU-Canada trade agreement
Parliament rejected a request by 89 MEPs to refer the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for an opinion on Wednesday.
Eighty-nine MEPs had questioned whether the free trade deal’s investor protection provisions are in line with the right of governments to regulate in order to achieve legitimate public policy aims, such as protecting health, safety or the environment.
The referral request was rejected by 419 votes to 258, with 22 abstentions, paving the way for a vote on the CETA agreement itself.
“Our legal experts said that CETA has no effect on our legal framework, on the competencies of the EU or on our constitutional rights. This agreement provides an answer to our concerns regarding globalisation without causing problems for democracy”, said rapporteur Daniel Caspary (EPP, DE).
The European Parliament’s Legal Service found no contradiction between CETA’s investment chapter and the EU Treaties when it assessed this issue in June this year.
Background
Under Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (108), the committee responsible, a political group or at least one-tenth of the Members may propose that Parliament seek an opinion from the ECJ on the compatibility of an international agreement with the Treaties before a vote is taken on that agreement.
Next steps
The agreement is to be put to a vote by the International Trade Committee on 5 December.
Procedure: Consent
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LINDER BÁLINT PÉTER
Press Officer