Romania’s deal with Canada on visas, uncertain, as negotiations on CETA fail

The Romanians’ hopes of visiting Canada without visas starting December 2017 lasted less than a day as the main condition of the deal agreed by Romanian and Canadian hasn’t been met. The negotiations between Canadian representatives and those of the Belgian region of Wallonia on the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA) seem to have failed on Friday, October 21, according to Canadian newspaper thestar.com. Thus, the trade agreement between EU and Canada, which has been negotiated for seven years, and should have been signed during a EU-Canada summit on October 27 may be postponed or even cancelled. If CETA isn’t signed, then Canada doesn’t have to lift visas for Romanians and Bulgarians, as agreed earlier on the same day. On Friday morning, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced that the Canadian authorities agreed to remove visas for Romanians and Bulgarians travelling to Canada starting December 2017. In return, Romania and Bulgaria also agreed to withdraw their objections on CETA and allow the signing of the treaty. However, Jean Claude Junker, the president of the European Commission, made it clear on Friday that the visa lifting for Romanians a Bulgarians was conditioned by the signing of CETA. Thus, Romanians and Bulgarians had to hope that the Walloons would reach an agreement with the Canadians. Canada’s International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland walked out Friday on talks with Wallonia’s leaders in Brussels, and the statement she issued afterwards suggests that there are slim chances that the deal will go through. “I personally have worked very hard, but it is now evident to me — evident to Canada — that the European Union is incapable of reaching an agreement, even with a country with European values such as Canada, even with a country as nice and as patient as Canada,” the statement read, according to thestar.com. Paul Magnette, Wallonia’s president, asked for more time to continue the talks and suggested that the EU-Canada summit be postponed. editor@romania-insider.com