Foreign Affairs Council, 18/10/2016

The Council will be called on to adopt a package of decisions on the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with Canada (CETA). These include decisions on conclusion of the agreement, signature and provisional application.

CETA will remove more than 99% of tariffs that are currently imposed on trade between the EU and Canada. It includes provisions on market access for goods, services, investment and government procurement, as well as on intellectual property rights, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, sustainable development, regulatory cooperation, mutual recognition, trade facilitation, cooperation on raw materials, dispute settlement and technical barriers to trade.

In addition, the Council will also be invited to adopt a joint interpretative declaration. This declaration, which is a joint text with Canada, will provide, in accordance with the Vienna convention on the law treaties, a binding interpretation of CETA’s terms on specific issues.