France’s parliament approves Canada-EU trade agreement

Half of the European Union’s member countries have so far approved the agreement.

France’s National Assembly approved the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada.

This week’s vote came after a heated debate about the agreement’s environmental impact. 266 assembly members approved the agreement, while 213 voted against it.

The legislation will now be sent to the Senate for approval before being signed into law by French President Macron at a later date.

The agreement between Canada and the EU is under provisional application since September 2017 and can only enter fully into force once ratified by all EU Member States.

Only upon the conclusion of this process can the Investment Court System become operational. Until then, CETA will continue to be provisionally applied. CETA was approved by the European Parliament on February 15, 2017.

Approximately half of the European Union’s member countries have so far approved the agreement.