New German objections threaten Canada-EU trade deal

[Oscar]

New German objections threaten Canada-EU trade deal

[ http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014 ... _deal.html ]

New doubts about the fate of the long-sought trade deal emerge from Europe on eve of Harper meeting with EU officials to celebrate completion of negotiations.

By: Les Whittington
< http://www.thestar.com/authors.whittington_les.html >

Ottawa Bureau reporter, Published on Thu Sep 25 2014

OTTAWA - A day before Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with senior European Union officials to laud the completion of five years of free-trade negotiations, Germany has thrown the fate of the long-sought Canada-EU deal into doubt.

Reports from Europe say Germany, a key member of the EU, is signalling it won't approve the landmark trade pact because of objections to the investor-protection measures included in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Germany's objection is a potential major setback to CETA, which Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso lauded as a nearly completed last October in a highly-publicized ceremony in Brussels.

According to accounts Thursday, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel told parliamentarians that more work needs to be done on CETA and Germany wants to see the controversial investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) measures removed from the Canada-EU pact.

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