The European Union and Canada closed in Thursday on a landmark free trade deal after Belgium cleared internal political opposition, just hours after a planned summit to sign the agreement had to be cancelled, according to dpa. For days, Belgium's francophone region of Wallonia had blocked the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which aims to lift trade barriers and ease the flow of goods between Canada and the EU. It cannot be signed unless all 28 EU member states are on board. "Belgian agreement on CETA," Prime Minister Charles Michel wrote on Twitter. "Finally white smoke," added EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. Belgium's regional parliaments now have until midnight (2200 GMT) on Friday to give their go-ahead for Belgium to approve CETA, Michel said. The rest of the EU is already on board. The Walloon parliament is expected to vote at around 4 pm Friday, the Belga news agency reported. The region of Brussels and the country's French-language community had also opposed the deal. In parallel, EU member states are expected to give their formal approval to CETA and all accompanying texts by midnight on Friday, after their ambassadors accepted the Belgian compromise, EU sources said on condition of anonymity. The hope is that, "after all procedures are concluded, we will be able to say that the EU is ready to sign the CETA agreement," one source said. Canadian officials must also vet the Belgian addendum before CETA can be signed. European Council President Donald Tusk welcomed Thursday's "good news," but said he would wait until all hurdles are removed before contacting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "Only once all procedures are finalized for [the] EU signing CETA, will I contact PM Justin Trudeau," Tusk wrote on Twitter. CETA was supposed to be inked at an EU-Canada summit in Brussels on Thursday. With no breakthrough in sight, the Canadian delegation led by Trudeau had cancelled their trip late Wednesday. Canadian officials said the resolution of Belgium's deadlock was a "positive step," but warned that "there is still work do" before the on-again-off-again agreement is signed. "Canada has done its job. Canada ؟remains ready to sign this important agreement when Europe is ready,"؟؟؟ said Alex Lawrence, the spokesman for Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland. Walloon leader Paul Magnette told Belga he was "very, very happy" with Thursday's outcome. "If we took a little bit of time, it is because I think that what we have achieved here is important not only for the Walloons but also for all Europeans," Magnette had said earlier. Many suspect, however, that political rivalries between Wallonia's Socialist leaders and the federal centre-right coalition are also at play. When asked in an interview with German broadcaster ARD late Wednesday whether the EU was to blame for the summit's postponement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, "The difficulties that we had are interior Belgian difficulties that had to be set aside." The compromise text, posted online by the RTBF broadcaster and retweeted by Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, addresses concerns that CETA could weaken social and environmental standards, threaten farmers' livelihoods and give undue powers to corporations. It notably also includes a demand for the European Court of Justice, the EU's top tribunal, to check if a proposed arbitration court for disputes between companies and governments is in line with the bloc's rules. CETA is seen as a blueprint for a bigger - and more controversial - deal being negotiated with the United States. Proponents argue that trade agreements boost the economy and create jobs.
