Belgium reaches deal to back EU-Canada trade agreement

MHz

MHz

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petros said:
Cool. My dad invented draught horses.
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Let me guess which ones were your favorite.


Then there is the 'get out of Dodge before the lynch-mod gets you version.

https://belesprit09.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/our-love-affair-with-french-bred-horses/
When wealthy Australian entrepreneurs and their middlemen are found sauntering through the *Rothschilds’ original stables in the charming French country town of Chantilly, you know there must be a good deal going down.
The nearest that most Australians have ever come to Chantilly is watching the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, where the spy turns up to a horse sale and confuses the servants’ quarters for the stables.
But all that started to change in 2010. That was the year the Australian dollar moved to parity with the US dollar – making offshore acquisitions cheaper than ever.
It was also the year Americain, owned by *multimillionaire Gerry Ryan, won the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup – the first French horse to do so. The following year the Australian dollar rocketed above $US1.10 and the French horse Dunaden won the 151st running.
 
C

Curious Cdn

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My great uncle bred Belgian draft horses. He even died in his barn, surrounded by his horses.
 
MHz

MHz

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I liked him as soon as you said what he used to do. I saw two of our (Clydesdale) hoses kick the sh*t out of a black bear. One kick with both back hooves and the fight was over.

Curious Cdn said:
Hey. Vancouver is a "nuclear free zone". If every town in Canada did that, we'd all be free from nuclear attack, too!
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It the ones that come in from outside that are the ones you have to worry about.
 
MHz

MHz

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On Thursday, Belgium reached a deal on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, after days of opposition from the region of Wallonia.

Previously, all 28 EU governments supported the deal except for Wallonia, which has a veto power. On Thursday, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel confirmed that leaders of five regional parliaments had reached a deal with the government over CETA. "We have finally found an agreement among the Belgians that will now be submitted to European institutions and our European partners," said Paul Magnette, head of Wallonia’s government.

The Wallonia government has been concerned that local agricultural producers could lose competition to Canadian farmers. Magnette had also criticized the CETA-proposed court system for settling disputes between governments and foreign investors.

Finally, the parties agreed a four-page document containing guarantees that the Belgian federal government will assess the social and economic impact of CETA. The fact that Wallonia finally endorsed the agreement is not positive since the CETA agreement in its current form is unacceptable, said Jean-Frederic Poisson, a French presidential candidate and leader of the Christian Democratic Party. "It’s all about money and trade power. Trade is considered the dominant form of any social interactions. But it is just an illusion that the simple fact of trade ties could lead to peace and partnership between nations," Poisson said in an interview with Sputnik France.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/business/201610281046827996-ceta-belgium-french-politician/

The ones that have veto power are the ones that have the properties that belong to the bankers, true or not true??

Local growers would have first place in line but should there be a need for disaster relief the stored grain in Canada would be shipped to the EU for 'relief purposes' and Canadians would use the grain that is harvested 'next year' and until then use the stuff not for export but not yet cattle grade.
 
darkbeaver

darkbeaver

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The first summer job I had was fenceing and rock picking with an old clydesdale named Mary. When the sun was mid day she insisted on lunch without fail, she would bolt if you missed by a few minutes.
 
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Recently The Toronto Star, wrote what I felt was an uncritical endorsement (link is external) of CETA. The part that especially disturbed me was this:

In the case of CETA, the demonization focuses on one part of the agreement, involving a process for resolving disputes between investors and governments. The so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement system would allow foreign firms to challenge European laws if they felt they were being unfairly discriminated against.

The critics portrayed this as a way for corporate interests to ride roughshod over local concerns. So the EU amended the deal early this year, with the Trudeau government happy to go along.

They changed the system for resolving disputes, proposing a permanent system closer to a permanent trade court. They added measures aimed at making arbitrators act impartially. And they affirmed the right of governments to regulate to achieve “legitimate policy objectives” in such areas as the environment, labour, health and culture – even if that damages investors’ expectations of profit. In other words, they made efforts to tip the balance away from corporations in favour of the broader public interest.What the paper failed to acknowledge was that most of the above is more aspirational and cosmetic (link is external) than it is legally binding.

As usual, Star readers are voicing their views (link is external) strongly and unequivocally. Each letter is worth reading, but I am reproducing just a few of them below:

Re: Trade deal with Europe should be salvaged: Editorial, Oct. 25

The Star was absolutely correct in saying that CETA is a deal worth saving. Who can argue with something that provides more opportunities for our goods and services and gives Canadian consumers access to European goods at a reduced cost.

But the editorial completely missed the boat when it didn’t indicate what changes to CETA were needed in order to make it more acceptable to all participants and by glossing over the main sticking point, namely the ISDS provisions.

ISDS stands for Investor State Dispute Settlement. In a nutshell, ISDS is a process whereby a foreign corporation (not a domestic company) can sue a government (federal, provincial or municipal) when it feels that a regulation adversely affects its potential profit. The process completely bypasses the court system of the country being sued and the decisions (made by a tribunal of corporate lawyers instead of impartial judges) are final and cannot be overturned.

ISDS is an affront to the sovereignty of any country and should be eliminated from all trade agreements, particularly those involving countries with well-established and independent court systems.

Can CETA be improved? Yes, by eliminating all sections that provide a clear and significant advantage to multinational corporations, starting with ISDS.

Dennis Choptiany, Markham

It’s hard to believe the Star’s editorial board would be lamenting the death of a trade deal like CETA. This is the same type of deal as all the rest. It has been negotiated for the benefit of large corporations and even the best arguments in favour of it are a joke.

Desmond Fisher, Ottawa

I find it astounding that people are surprised that the people of Wallonia, who were informed about CETA’s contents and had the power to stop it initially, did so. I have met zero people who have gone to meetings about CETA or the TPP and felt they were in our best interests.

Harper sold the wheat board to foreign investors, while Wynne sold the well that a town wanted for drinking water to Nestlé to be bottled — both showing government favours profit over public interests.

Just wait until corporations have even more power, which is the real purpose of trade agreements.

What we need are deals that can be discussed with, and supported by, the public. Trudeau promised transparency but is just finishing what Harper started, still behind closed doors.

Well done Wallonia!

Stephen Albrecht, Toronto

I fear your editorial bad mouthing the EU is unfair. And so is Freeland’s tough-guy take-it-or-leave-it attitude.

The investor state dispute settlement mechanism has been problematic for many Canadians and clearly is for Europeans. Your editorial states that’s all been taken care of, but a recent column by Thomas Walkom says the renegotiated arrangement is “non-binding.”

Which is correct? Clear explanation of this has been fairly thin in Canadian media. But the Europeans are communicating quite openly and I feel their concerns about a Trojan horse of multi-national corporate interests using “nice” old Canada to take advantage of the deal should be taken seriously.

Ken Pyette, TorontoAs I have written before, one of the foremost duties of citizenship is to be informed and knowledgeable. It is the only chance we have of holding our elected representatives to account. Anything less is a betrayal of us all.


 
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MHz

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Union leaders on Sunday finally signed a landmark trade deal seven years in the making, after it was nearly being torpedoed by a small region of Belgium.
The ceremony in Brussels had been pushed back from Thursday after French-speaking Wallonia, with just 3.6 million people, initially vetoed an agreement affecting more than 500 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians.
Cheers and applause erupted as Trudeau signed the pact alongside EU President Donald Tusk, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
Protesters earlier burst through riot police lines and hurled red paint at the European Union's headquarters, while activists banged drums and chanted slogans against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
EU, Canada Sign Long-Delayed Trade Deal after Belgian Drama — Naharnet


That seems to be a lot of pull for being such a small population. Do the other members get to veto the motions they bring foreward??
 
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