European Union: European Parliament

The European Union Dept: And even as Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and International Trade Minister Ed Fast launch a national campaign to sell the merits of the deal to Canadians, European Union officials are warning significant hurdles lie ahead, notably tough negotiations on agriculture, according to The Star. But passage of the deal requires not just the approval of the European Parliament but the individual EU member nations as well. And three of those countries Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania are unlikely to endorse the trade pact unless Canada lifts its visa requirement on their citizens, said Matthias Brinkmann, the EU s ambassador in Canada and oTTAWA Canada s desire for a sweeping free trade pact with the European Union is unlikely to happen unless Ottawa drops its visa requirements for three European countries, the EU ambassador warns. Both Canada and the European Union hope to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA billed as Ottawa s most ambitious trade agreement yet sometime this year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.