After years of dispute, the Bundestag decided to ratify the EU trade agreement with Canada (Ceta). 559 MPs voted for this, against only 110. FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr spoke of an important step: “We need more free trade with the democracies of this world.” The Greens parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge defended the approval of her MPs, the party was against Ceta for a long time. With the EU and Canada, it has been possible to reform investment protection standards that are prone to abuse. Abusive lawsuits against climate protection and sustainability would be history. SPD parliamentary group leader Verena Hubertz said the agreement would make trade significantly easier, and tariffs and trade barriers would be eliminated. Ceta has been in force for the time being since September 2017, but only for those areas for which the EU alone is responsible and not the member states. The parts on investment protection and investment jurisdiction are on hold pending ratification. The approval of several EU countries is still missing. There is still loud criticism of Ceta, for example from Greenpeace.
Free trade – Bundestag agrees to Ceta – Economy
