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| EU-Canada trade deal: Belgians break Ceta deadlock | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Belgian political leaders have reached a consensus in support of the Ceta trade deal between the EU and Canada, Prime Minister Charles Michel has said. | |
| He said "an agreement" was found after the latest round of negotiations with Belgium's French-speaking communities who have held up the deal. | |
| A signing ceremony on Thursday was cancelled after the region of Wallonia vetoed the deal. | |
| A Belgian deal would still have to be approved by the other 27 EU members. | |
| Under Belgium's federal system, the national government cannot sign the deal unless all six regional parliaments approve it. | |
| French-speaking Wallonia, a staunchly socialist region of 3.6 million people, had been leading objections to the deal, demanding stronger safeguards on labour, environmental and consumer standards. | |
| Mr Michel tweeted: "All parliaments are now able to approve by tomorrow at midnight. Important step for EU and Canada." | |
| It took seven years to negotiate Ceta, the EU's most ambitious trade deal yet. | |
| The Ceta wrangling has raised new concerns about future UK negotiations with the EU on a Brexit trade deal. | |
| A major stumbling block is the plan to create new commercial courts to handle disputes between companies and national governments. | |
| Wallonia fears they would give too much leverage to multinationals. It also wants more protection for Walloon farmers, who would face new competition from Canadian imports. |