The Walloon Minister-President, Paul Magnette, announced his current proposal at the end of yesterday (Thursday). He intends to put to the Walloon parliament the possibility of activating the CETA (the free trade UE-Canada treaty) suspension clause.
This would occur if the federal government delays in seeking the ECJ's opinion.
“The Walloons should not be messed with,” Mr Magnette declared to the Belga Press Agency.
The Prime Minister, Charles Michel, seems to be giving “a dishonest interpretation” of the commitments that he has made regarding Wallonia during negotiation around the treaty.
As indicated, Mr Magnette added, “If it turns out that [Michel] is acting in bad faith, I will request that the Walloon parliament activates the suspension clause. We have indeed anticipated all of the practices he may have used.”
The leader of the Walloon government says that the federal government should notify the operation of this clause to EU member states.
This will lead to the suspension of the treaty as a whole, without the possibility of provisional application.
The Brussels Times
