EU, Canada sign free trade deal but battle not over

The European Union and Canada signed a free trade agreement today that aims to generate jobs and growth though it must still clear some 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU institutions, a step that should enable a provisional implementation of the pact early in 2017 with the removal of most import duties. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement's (CETA) passage has not been smooth. French-speakers in southern Belgium, a minority within their own small country and accounting for less than 1 percent of the 508 million EU consumers likely to be affected by CETA, raised objections that held up the deal until a breakthrough on Thursday, confirmed by regional parliamentary votes on Friday. "We are setting standards which will determine globalisation in the coming years," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference alongside Trudeau. "Nothing in other trade agreements will be able to remain below the level of what we have reached today with Canada." The Canada agreement is seen as a springboard to a larger EU...

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