Morawiecki on CETA: Trade beneficial, but doubts about arbitration

Poland has benefited from trade integration with the EU, and trade with Canada through CETA will certainly also pay off for us, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Mateusz Morawiecki. But he adds that he has serious objections to the arbitration part of CETA.

“I am a very nuanced supporter of CETA. Let's ask ourselves: has Poland benefited from trade integration with the EU? Every entrepreneur and 80 percent of society says yes. CETA should be treated similarly. Trade with Canada will also definitely pay off. But I have very serious reservations about the second part of CETA on investment, especially the mechanisms of international arbitration and the very strong position of corporations in disputes with states,” Morawiecki said.

Morawiecki acknowledges that the Sejm resolution on CETA is a very strong signal that the agreement must be ratified by a 2/3 majority. “It was not only PiS that voted for it, but 3/4 of deputies, and that certainly gives us a lot of support,” he pointed out.