EU sets Belgium Monday deadline to back CETA

The European Union has givenBelgium until late on Monday to overcome opposition to a freetrade deal with Canada from its French-speaking region or asummit to sign the pact that could boost both economies is off,EU sources said on Sunday.

EU trade negotiators are rushing to assuage the Walloongovernment's concerns before the Monday deadline set by CanadianPrime Minister Justin Trudeau to decide whether to fly toBrussels, according sources familiar with the matter.

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Canada says it is ready to sign the pact as planned onThursday and year-long negotiations were over, with trademinister Chrystia Freeland saying "the ball is in the EU court."

All 28 EU governments support the Comprehensive Economic andTrade Agreement (CETA), but Belgium cannot give assent withoutbacking from each of its regionaladministrations.

French-speaking Wallonia has steadfastly opposed it, sayingthe deal is bad for Europe's farmers and gives too much power toglobal corporate interests.

"It's disgusting the way this has [played]out,"global markets analystPatrick Young told CBC News. "Ultimatelyto be let down at the 11th hour, actually really at one minute before midnight before the signing of the deal, has been absolutely appalling."

In a last-ditch bid to secure Walloon backing, EU tradeofficials are offering tweaks to a political declarationappended to the treaty, an EU source said.

"Trade deals are win-win deals. Each party is able to build more stuff ,export more stuff and do more trade with the other country. And that's what's really, really frustrating," Young said.

'We are refused a few weeks'

Many EU leaders suspect the local government in Namur isusing its devolved powers to play domestic politics. "This isfirst of all an inner-Belgian matter," an EU source said.

Walloon Socialist Party leader Elio Di Rupo, one of the most vocalopponents of the deal, cast doubt an agreement could be reachednext week.

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"They took years to negotiate #CETA and we are refused a fewweeks," Di Rupo, a former Belgian prime minister, tweeted onSunday. "Will we reach a solution? All depends on the contents.If it doesn't change enough, we will maintain our opposition."

European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs thecollective body of the EU's leaders, will speak to Belgian PrimeMinister Charles Michel by late on Monday, EU sources said,before informing Trudeau's government of the state of play.

"If Michel says he is not in a position to confirm thatBelgium will be able to sign on Thursday, then we won't have thesummit," a source said.

If postponed, no new summit date will be set, although thesource said neither the EU nor Canada is willing to give up on afree trade pact that has been years in the making.

The issue is greater than just a trade deal with Canada, theEU's 12th-largest trading partner.

If CETA fails, the EU's hopes of completing similar dealswith the United States or Japan would be in tatters, undermininga bloc already battered by Britain's vote to leave and disputesover Europe's migration crisis.

"TheEurozonestill has thefundamentalproblems that we've talked about for years," Young said. "It's really a disaster, and that's why people are very,very annoyed,upset and frustrated because itfeelslike the European Union is being held for ransom by one small,not very important region out of 28 nations."