Canada’s trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, is currently in Brussels for talks aimed at getting the Canada-EU trade deal finalized and ratified by the EU parliament and all of the EU member states. (Belgium’s ratification of the agreement is dependent on support from both of the country’s linguistic blocs and unfortunately the government of the French-speaking region has refused to approve the agreement). Ms. Freeland graces the cover of the current issue of the magazine for members of the EU parliament. At the margin, this publicity, plus the fact Ms. Freeland speaks French, might help to get the deal past skeptical left-wing MEPs and the government of Wallonia.
As long-time readers of this blog know, I’ve been following the CETA talks with considerable and sympathetic interest for some time. With exquisite timing, The Conversation has just today published a short piece in which I provide some important context for understanding CETA and why CETA is relevant to the Brexit debate here in the UK.
The image above is from Twitter feed of the media officer of the Canadian mission to the EU.
The Past Speaks 
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