CETA likely to come into effect in February

Poland’s Deputy minister for Development, Tadeusz Kościński, reminded the press on Thursday that provisional application of the EU’s free trade agreement with Canada – known as CETA – will likely occur very shortly. It will be in effect, provisionally, after the EU Parliament passes it, which it is expected to do in February. He was speaking to reporters at a ministry conference on development. “[After] the signing, provisional application [will be in effect for] the European Union, [as] agreed by all Member States. Also, the Polish government agreed to sign the CETA and its provisional application in Poland, [but it is] limited to records within the exclusive competence of the European Union,” said Kościński. However, he maintained that the provisional application is not irreversible – in other words, complete entry into force of the agreement for Poland’s businesses and citizens depends on the ratification of the agreement in the Polish parliament. “In the case of Poland, it will be [in effect] after the ratification by the President, on the basis of consent granted by statute,” Kościński stressed. “We [will make] a decision after a detailed analysis of all possible influences on the Polish people, the Polish economy and Polish agriculture,” he added. However, under the provisional implementation, which will be granted by the EU’s parliament in February, between 95 and 97 percent of the agreement will enter into force, according to both the EU Commission and the Canadian government. Kościński hinted that he felt the balance in mutual trade in goods and services is positive. After 10 months of 2016, Polish trade with Canada reached almost PLN 4.5 billion.