Canada Says EU Rejection of Trade Pact would Send Wrong Message to World

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The European rejection of a "progressive" trade pact with Canada would send the wrong message to the world, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Thursday.

"If Europe cannot manage to sign this agreement, then that sends a very clear message not just to Europeans but to the whole world that Europe is choosing a path that is not productive, either for its citizens or for the world and that would be a shame," Trudeau said after a meeting with his visiting French counterpart Manuel Valls.

European activists have been seeking to block the so-called CETA free trade deal, which is slated to be formally signed at an EU-Canada summit on October 27.

Opposition by the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium could sink the deal. All 28 EU member states must ratify the agreement in order for it to come into effect next year.

"If in a week or two we see that Europe is unable to sign a progressive trade agreement with a country like Canada, well, then with whom will Europe think that it can do business in the years to come?" Trudeau said.

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