EU and Canada sign CETA trade deal

The European Union and Canada signed the comprehensive CETA free trade deal on Sunday. It removes around 99 percent of duties on trade between the two parties, along with most non-tariff barriers, as well as liberalizing trade in services. The document was signed by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the head of the European Council Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and the head of the rotating EU presidency Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia. The EU-Canada summit with the signing ceremony was originally planned for Thursday. But it was cancelled because the Belgian region of Wallonia opposed the agreement. The Belgian federal government required the consent of all its regions and language communities. A compromise was reach between the Belgian government and regions on Thursday afternoon, and Wallonia’s parliament approved the deal on Friday. This made Sunday’s signing possible.