歐盟 加拿大貿易協定絕處逢生

The EU’s trade deal with Canada was yesterday pulled back from the brink after Belgian regional leaders dropped their objections to the country’s government signing the pact in an eleventh-hour rescue.

歐盟與加拿大的貿易協議昨日從懸崖邊緣被拉回，此前最後一刻的挽救努力奏效，比利時的地方領導人放棄反對該國政府簽署協定。

The agreement came just hours after Justin Trudeau, Canada’s premier, cancelled a trip to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in Brussels.

在有關各方達成協議的幾小時前，加拿大總理賈斯廷.特魯多(Justin Trudeau)取消前往布魯塞爾簽署《綜合經濟與貿易協定》(CETA)的行程。

MPs in the French-speaking region of Wallonia, the Brussels region and the country’s tiny German-speaking region have been asked to confirm their approval of the Ceta treaty by midnight tonight.

講法語的瓦隆大區(Wallonia)、布魯塞爾地區以及該國微小的德語區的議員被要求在今晚午夜之前確認他們批准CETA條約。

Charles Michel, Belgium’s prime minister, said the regional parliaments would have “the last word” on a deal that would retain Belgium’s “credibility on the international stage”.

比利時首相夏爾.米歇爾(Charles Michel)表示，地區議會對於“保留比利時在國際舞臺上的信譽”的一項協定將具有“最後發言權”。

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said he would only contact Mr Trudeau “once all procedures are finalised” for the EU to sign Ceta.

歐洲理事會(European Council)主席唐納德.圖斯克(Donald Tusk)表示，“只有當所有程序都已完成”，歐盟可以簽署CETA之後，他纔會聯繫特魯多。

There has been deep frustration among Ceta’s supporters at the failure of the Belgian regional leaders to approve a deal that the government in Brussels and those of 27 other member states had agreed to sign.

此前，對於比利時地方領導人未能批准該國和歐盟其他27個成員國政府已經同意簽署的協定，CETA的支持者深感沮喪。

Mr Tusk has warned that a collapse of Ceta would have “obvious consequences” for Europe’s global position.

圖斯克警告說，CETA半途而廢將給歐洲的全球地位帶來“明顯後果”。

The Ceta affair has been deeply embarrassing for EU leaders, who had hoped the deal would prepare the ground for the even bigger Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership pact with the US. Instead the affair has raised questions over the ability of the EU to conclude complex deals that require the support of all the parliaments in the bloc.

歐盟領導人曾希望該協議將爲與美國達成更大的《跨大西洋貿易與投資夥伴關係協定》(Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership)做一些鋪墊，因此他們對CETA遭遇的波折深感尷尬。與他們的初衷相反，這一波折令人質疑：歐盟有沒有能力敲定那些需要得到成員國所有議會支持的複雜交易？

Belgium’s government strongly supports the deal but under the federal structure it cannot sign without regional approval. The national parliament backed Ceta as did the parliament in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders.

比利時政府大力支持這項協議，但在聯邦制下，如果沒有地區層面的批准，它就不能簽署。比利時的國家議會以及講荷蘭語的法蘭德斯大區(Flanders)的議會支持CETA。

The parties came close to a deal on Wednesday but talks broke up — resulting in the cancellation of an EU-Canada summit. Before he cancelled his visit, Mr Trudeau said the logjam could still be broken. “We are confident that in the coming days we will see a positive outcome for this historic deal.”

各方在週三曾接近達成協議，但談判後破裂，導致歐盟-加拿大峯會被取消。特魯多在取消赴歐行程之前表示，僵局仍有望被打破。“我們相信，我們在未來幾天將看到這個歷史性的協議取得積極結果。”

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s trade minister, said the country was ready to sign this important agreement “when Europe is ready”.

加拿大貿易部長克里斯蒂婭.弗裏蘭(Chrystia Freeland)表示，該國準備簽署這一重要協議——“只要歐洲準備就緒”。