Trudeau to travel to Brussels on Sunday for Canada-EU trade deal

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will finally travel to Brussels to sign the Canada-EU free trade deal known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

The Prime Minister’s Office, which confirmed Trudeau’s off-again, on-again travel plans, says the postponed summit will now take place Sunday.

Trudeau had initially expected to sign the deal in Brussels earlier this week, but the restive Belgian region of Wallonia put the brakes on that plan by standing in lone opposition to the controversial deal.

Wallonia held a veto over Belgium’s ability to support the deal, which requires the support of all 28 EU countries.

In recent weeks, the tiny French-speaking region of 3.5 million people opposed the deal’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, with the support of other European politicians and anti-trade activists.

An agreement Thursday give national and regional parliaments throughout Europe new powers over those controversial investor protection provisions, prompting warnings from some observers that the pact remains a fragile one.

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