EU Commission Submits Compromise Proposals on CETA to Belgium's Wallonia

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Commission presented to the Belgian region of Wallonia new compromise proposals on the EU-Canadian Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which partially take into account the requirements of the local authorities, Wallonia's Minister President Paul Magnette said on Wednesday.

"We feel that they are beginning to hear us, but we continue to negotiate," Magnette told RTBF.

Head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday that he did not know whether the CETA agreement would be signed on Thursday. According to him, the main aim was to reach an agreement with Belgium so that Brussels "could sign the agreement at the right time."

On Thursday, the 28-nation bloc and Ottawa are expected to sign CETA at the joint EU-Canada Summit. However, on Monday Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the nation was "not in a position to sign CETA" amid concerns that the Walloon government, the Brussels government, the government of Federation Wallonia-Brussels and the French Community Commission had about the deal. Under the Belgian federal laws, every region has a right to reject the agreement.

CETA aims to establish a free trade zone between Canada and the 28-nation bloc, scrapping the majority of the existing tariffs between the two sides. Opponents fear it would undermine standards and regulations on environmental protection, health, safety and workers' rights.