Article content

The head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker is preparing to scrap plans to fast-track approval of a trade deal with Canada, the Financial Times reports.

Juncker was criticized by Germany and France after he tried to speed up adoption of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) by having it approved by trade ministers and MEPs, rather than requiring the 38 national parliaments to approve it.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or European Commission set to ditch plans to fast-track trade deal with Canada: Report Back to video

The Times reports that the commission in an eleventh-hour political retreat now plans to switch their approach and declare the Canada deal a “mixed agreement” at a meeting of EU Commissioners today.

There is fear that, with protectionist sentiment in the EU rising in the wake of Brexit, that a lengthy ratification process could be the death knell of a deal that took five years to negotiate, say the Times.