EU leaders set to grapple with Canada trade deal impasse

Brussels (dpa) - EU leaders faced tough questions Friday on the future of the bloc‘s trade policy, with time ticking for a Belgian regional assembly to lift its blockade of a landmark deal negotiated with Canada.The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is supposed to be signed at an EU-Canada summit next week in Brussels. But unless the region of Wallonia withdraws its opposition, Belgium cannot approve it, blocking the ceremony.The deal - which would ease the flow of goods by removing tariffs and trade barriers between Canada and EU member states - is seen as a blueprint for a bigger, and more controversial, agreement being negotiated with the United States.Talks continued through the night after the Walloon government rejected compromises offered by EU leaders late Thursday, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said, adding that he had spoken also to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau."I am not reassured," Michel said, referring to a "radicalization" of positions in the Walloon government. The coming hours should deliver more clarity, he added.The concerns of Wallonia‘s socialist government focus on a perceived weakening of labour and environmental standards under CETA, as well as a lack of transparency during the negotiation process - fears shared by a broader anti-globalization movement in Europe.EU officials have warned that failure to conclude CETA would raise questions about the bloc‘s ability to strike trade deals in future.The "credibility of Europe is at stake," European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday on Twitter.Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas expressed hope regarding a breakthrough on Friday, while Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said the deal was important."Canada‘s economy [is] as large as Russia‘s so imagine what this means for [the] EU," she noted.