Berlin, Dec. 2, (dpa/GNA) - The German parliament on Thursday voted by a large majority to ratify a controversial EU trade agreement with Canada.
In a roll call vote, 559 lawmakers voted in favour and 110 against ratifying the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The vote had been preceded by years of debate.
Christian Dürr, leader of the parliamentary group for the Free Democrats, part of the governing coalition, spoke of an important step. “We need more free trade with the democracies of this world.”
Green faction leader Katharina Dröge defended her party’s vote in favour. The party had long been against CETA.
Dröge said that, together with the EU and Canada, they had managed to reform standards on investment protection that were susceptible to abuse. Abusive lawsuits against climate protection and sustainability would be history.
Verena Hubertz, vice president of the Social Democrats’ parliamentary group, spoke of an important step for “value-oriented free trade” and the cohesion of democratic states. The agreement would significantly facilitate trade and ensure that tariffs and trade barriers would disappear, she added.
CETA has been provisionally in force since September 2017, but only in those areas for which the EU alone is responsible and not the member states. Other areas, such as investment protection and investment jurisdiction, are on hold until ratification is completed.
Approval from several EU states, including Germany, is still missing.
There is still widespread criticism of CETA. Greenpeace trade expert Lis Cunha, for example, said: “The agreement protects fossil fuel corporations instead of the climate.”
GNA