MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that she felt disappointment over problems with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union and promised to promote the renewal of talks by all means.
"I share everyone's disappointment over the stalled talks between the EU and Canada. And we will, of course, do everything we can to try and help get these discussions back on track," May told the UK parliament's lower house members.
As long as the United Kingdom remains an EU member state, London will continue to back the EU's trade agreements, May noted.
On Thursday, the 28-nation bloc and Ottawa were expected to sign CETA at the joint EU-Canada Summit. However, Belgium’s region of Wallonia is not giving the country its approval to sign the deal. On Sunday, media reported that the European Union expected the government of Wallonia to make a final decision on CETA by late Monday.
CETA aims to establish a free trade zone between Canada and the European Union, scrapping more than 98 percent of the existing tariffs between Ottawa and Brussels. Opponents fear it would undermine standards and regulations on environmental protection, health, safety and workers' rights.
