EU parliament approves trade deal with Canada

by Dramelin 6:00 AM 0 comments

Activists stage a demonstration against the so-called CETA trade deal outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Feb.15, 2017. (Photo: Jean-Francois Badias, AP)BRUSSELS - The European Union?s parliament approved a trade deal with Canada on Wednesday, extolling the pact as a sign of cooperation at a time when many political forces, including U.S. President Donald Trump?s administration, are trying to halt globalization. The Netherlands could still block it if it demands an advisory national referendum on the deal. The vote should close the drawn-out approval process across the 28 member states, where some governments and legislations had tried to modify or scupper the deal. After three hours of debate on Wednesday and years of negotiations preceding that, the legislature approved the deal by a margin of 408 for, 254 against with 33 abstentions.