Wallonia rejects the ultimatum imposed by the EU

World News Nilgun Salim
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The Walloon Government leader Paul Magnette dismissed on Sunday any ultimatum imposed by EU, Canada and Belgium regarding the Ottawa-EU trade agreement, writes dhnet.be.

‘Establishing an ultimatum possibly is not compatible with this democratic right’, stated Magnette.

The state leader added that he is ‘not aware’ of any ultimatum imposed by EU to Belgium and apparently, he always refused to follow a ‘mandatory schedule’.

‘We are presented with a disappointing document and in parallel, we are receiving an ultimatum. It is very surprising. This leads us to ask questions regarding the purpose’, told an inside source to AFP.

The European Union and Canada gave Belgium a deadline until Monday night to decide whether to support the EU-Ottawa (CETA) commercial partnership otherwise the agreement will be canceled, added the sources cited by Le Figaro .

The official signing of the agreement was blocked by the Wallonia Parliament. Prime Minister Paul Magnette said on Saturday that he expects new suggestions from the European Commission and suggested the postponement of the summit scheduled for Thursday in Brussels.

European Council President Donald Tusk will hold a press conference on Monday evening with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in order to establish with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if traveling to Brussels will be necessary.

Wallonia wants an interpretative document from the CETA agreement which must include specific data regarding the protection of private rights in the labor market, in general services, public tenders, and social services.

Prime Minister of Wallonia, Paul Magnette said Thursday evening that these changes are insufficient, taking into consideration a direct discussion with the government of Ottawa. The Belgian Federal government needs an approval of all Belgian regional entities to sign the agreement CETA.