Provisional application of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada (CETA)

25.5.2016

Question for written answer P-004200-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL)

On 2 March 2016 the Council stated in its answer to my Question P-015492/2015 that the Commission would not be presenting the Council with a proposal for signature or provisional application of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) until such time as the Court of Justice had issued its legal opinion on the nature of the agreement.

On 13 May 2016 the Foreign Affairs Council published document 8737/16 on the outcome of the Council meeting held on that date, which clearly refers to the Commission’s intention to submit a proposal to the Council in June 2016 for the signature and provisional application of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada (CETA).

Given that the Commission has already informed me that it would not be presenting proposals in advance of the Court of Justice ruling on the EU-Singapore FTA, and that this ruling will deal with issues of extreme importance with regard to the Union’s competence with respect to the protection of foreign investment, can the Commission now explain its decision to press ahead with the signature of CETA in the absence of such legal certainty?