Walloon parliament rejects CETA deal

The Walloon parliament Friday voted by a large majority to reject the CETA deal, adding to the threat that the EU’s landmark agreement with Canada will be killed and undermining Brussels’ ability to steer the world’s biggest trade bloc.

(...)

“I don’t consider this as a funeral, I don’t consider this as a veto without any conditions,” Magnette said. “I consider this as a request to re-open negotiations so that European leaders could hear the legitimate demands which have been forcefully expressed by an organized, transparent civil society.”

Walloon parliament rejects CETA deal

I'm glad that at least one regional entity in our EU has the balls to say no to this shady trade agreement, that was negotiated behind closed doors, that nobody has any clue what the final agreement looks like, and that will have a huge impact upon all of us, yet no transparant communication has taken place.

TTIP-light, as this CETA agreement has been called, is not in our best interest. It is written in the interest of big corporation, granting them even more power over democratically chosen governments. I say "hell no" to such agreements.

This one more thing the faltering EU doesn't need. I still say ten years from now people in the UK will be very glad we detached ourselves from this sick leviathan and I am beginning to think that the EU will not exist in its current form much beyond 2025

The article is interesting, particularly the..

...undermining Brussels’ ability to steer the world’s biggest trade bloc.

With the loss of the UK in a couple of years, the EU falls to being the third biggest trading block. It's hardly worth Canada's effort. It's interesting that there have been protests in Germany against this deal and Belgium is one of the most EU supporter nations.

Yes ! Yes ! Yes !

Glad you brought the info to ATS.
It's probably just the first of a long series, there are a lot of other regional entities in europe that still needs to give their agreement/refusal on that one.

a reply to: whismermill

It is something to watch even Wallonia send such a message to Juncker. The failure to pass CETA and the signal by the Hollande government that TIPP is dead in the water should be enough to demand the resignation of Juncker and the other European Commissioners.

Well, I can dream.

Is CETA just an EU ploy for economic warfare and invasion of North America, using Canada as conduit, that would further extend through NAFTA?

'War plan red' still viable?

Opened a Thread about this yesterday, when it happened.

Nobody was interested...

I am glad you opened another thread with this topic.
But CETA is not a TTIP light, it is a trojan horse called CETA, with TTIP inside. Not TTIP light.

Now let´s hope that the walloons stick with their decision!!!

a reply to: DerBeobachter

The latest developments are :

- The Belgian Foreign affair minister got his twitter account hacked and had a message "F... Canada !" published for about 11 hours. Then, he regained control of it, removed the said tweet and posted something else : "Keep calm and love Canada".
- The political majority is different in Walonia and at the federal level, the guys running Walonia (left) are not the part of the majority at the Federal level. Will the federal level override the regional Walloon decision ? I must concede I'm not certain about the constitutional legality of such a move (I'll check).
- So far, despite heavy pressure, the Walloon parliament is ready to stick to its current decision and it's unlikely that any amendment to the treaty can be brought in due time to satisfy them.

The are many local press articles available but, given that it is about Walonia, they are mostly in french.

I didn't noticed your previous thread, probably the title is too far from the content but I can only agree with you about that one :

originally posted by: DerBeobachter
Please Walloons, stick with your decision and the people of europe will love and celebrate you forever!!!

Do you know that Brussels is only second to Washington as the most lobby-infested city of the world ?
This is mostly due to the presence of EU institution but still.
I personally consider lobbying is nothing but de-penalized corruption.
Hopefully, the Walloon parliament is not (enough) under it's influence.

a reply to: theultimatebelgianjoke
Thanks for the informations, that hacked twitter account(i can´t take politicians/officials serious, that use Twitter, Facebook and stuff. Obsisously attention seekers that want me to become user of this unsocial media. To have an eye on me xD) was funny!

"I personally consider lobbying is nothing but de-penalized corruption."


"Hopefully, the Walloon parliament is not (enough) under it's influence."

SAY NO TO CETA: Wallonia’s “Red Card” Is A Chance For The EU To Be A Beacon To The World

Wallonia, the Belgian region taking the lead in its steadfast opposition to CETA, is doing us all a favour. For a start, they are exercising their democratic right to raise concerns about a proposed EU deal. One of the most important issues raised by Wallonia is how CETA would give power to foreign investors to sue governments for huge compensation if democratically agreed decisions to protect citizens or the environment interfere with their profits. Wallonia faces not only substantial financial liabilities, but also a serious impairment to its democratic decision-making powers. It is only normal that the region should have its say in this matter.

Secondly, the Walloon parliament has actually gone further than most other governments and parliaments in the EU: it seriously looked at the text of CETA and debated the pros and cons of such an agreement before taking a principled position. Sadly, similar criticism of CETA in Germany led to the drafting of an additional declaration to the agreement that acts as a palliative without addressing any of the issues raised, especially when it comes to the controversial investment chapter. Again, the Walloons are right to not be fooled by this PR exercise and remain steadfast in their opposition as long as their concerns are not answered properly.

The predictable scare-mongering by the political elite has already begun. They claim that if CETA fails then the EU would no longer be able to make such trade agreements in the future. But what if this was a good thing?

Negotiated under former prime minister Harper, one of Canada’s most conservative leaders in decades, the claims that CETA is the most progressive trade agreement ever made is total nonsense. At best, the agreement will just shift goods – and jobs – from one continent to another. In all likelihood, it will shift the balance of power away from democracy towards big corporations and traders. The intense debate of the last three years on TTIP and CETA shows these agreements do not stand up to the slightest bit of scrutiny. Nor do they deal with any of the pressing global issues.

...

If it takes the Walloon government to throw a spanner in the CETA works and create the political space for an open discussion on what Europe really needs, we fully support them. Wallonia will not just protect its 3 million inhabitants. It will also defend the interests of the vast majority of the EU’s 500 million citizens. Our European decision-makers should grasp this opportunity. Now is the chance for the EU to light the way ahead, reclaim social democracy and lead on establishing an economic system that contributes to a more equitable and sustainable world.

Very suspicious signing ceremony yesterday for the CETA agreement between the EU and Canada. Trap for Canada, or will it end up to be a trap for the EU?

CETA has been approved today in the European parlement. The EU picked the side of the Multinationals, against its own citizens. Its a sad, sad day