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BRUSSELS — In a major embarrassment to the European Union, a small region of Belgium continued to withhold on Monday its necessary support for a landmark free trade deal that the rest of the bloc and Canada wanted to sign this week.

While it remained unclear whether negotiations would resume with the francophone region of Wallonia, it was highly likely that the EU would have to call off Thursday’s summit to sign the deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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“We have been asked to give a clear answer today,” on whether Belgium could sign up as the last of 28 member states, said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel after meeting with Wallonia leader Paul Magnette. “And the clear answer, at this stage, is no.”

Even though Michel is eager to sign the deal, Belgium’s byzantine constitutional setup means every region in the country needs to back it, not only the national government. As a result, opposition from a region of 3.5 million could now nix a deal between over 500 million EU citizens and 35 million Canadians.