Belgian Region Says Not Opposed to CETA

Wallonia premier Paul Magnette said the Belgian region was not opposed to a planned EU-Canada free trade deal in itself but that an arbitration scheme needed to be dropped and public services protected. All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) but Belgium cannot give assent without backing from five sub-federal administrations. French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it, Reuters reported.  “Let’s be clear, I’m not a herald of anti-globalization, I want a deal,” Magnette told French daily Liberation in an interview published on Tuesday.But he said a court system specifically created to resolve disputes between investors and governments could be exploited by big business to dictate public policy. “I would prefer that this entity disappears pure and simple and that we rely on our courts,” he said. “Or at the very least, if we want an arbitration court, it must provide equivalent guarantees to domestic ones.”