International

The binding declarations which the European Commission is seeking to formulate have no legal worth and will not help get rid of the problems of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, according to renowned Canadian lawyer Steven Shrybman of Goldblatt Partners. SP Euro-MP Anne-Marie Mineur argues that only a resumption of negotiations on the text of the treaty can make a real difference.

Mineur, who is spokeswoman on the issue, has been fighting against the treaty for years. “This treaty seems far more like the TTIP than either the European Commission or the Canadians would have us believe. The treaty clearly carries the stamp of the former Canadian Prime Minister, the Conservative Steven Harper.” Referring to the current, Liberal Party Prime Minister, she added that “Justin Trudeau can’t resolve this with a few binding declarations. The parties recognise implicitly that the treaty lacks cohesion. There is a fear that CETA could for example enforce privatisation, make possible the buying up of publicly-owned domestic water suppliers and offer US firms the chance to take European governments to court.”

On 6th October European trade negotiators will meet in an informal setting to talk about the approval of the controversial trade agreement with Canada. One of the subjects under discussion will be the binding declarations designed to remove doubts about the treaty. These declarations change nothing when it comes to the dangers included in the official text of the treaty, concludes Shrybman, who carried out his study on behalf of the Council of Canadians, an independent social organisation.