The following is excerpted from 18 June 2013 article by The Globe and Mail.
The European Union had sharp words for Canada today as the two sides struggle to complete a trade deal, saying through a spokesman that it's been waiting for four months to hear the Canadian government say it's ready to make the compromises necessary for an agreement.
The undiplomatic comments from the 27-member union came after The Globe and Mail reported Canadian trade negotiators are running up against bureaucratic infighting among European Union officials, who are backing away from earlier commitments in talks for a Canada-Europe trade deal…
Asked for comment, EU trade spokesman John Clancy said Tuesday the European side has indicated it's ready to deal. He suggested the same could not be said of Canada…
Negotiations between Canada and the 27-member EU have entered their fourth straight week in Brussels. They are part of a push by Canada to conclude negotiations on its biggest trade deal since the historic Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement of 1988 – one that would make it easier for Canadian companies to sell goods and services to 500 million consumers in the EU…
Sources familiar with the talks say in more than one instance Canadians felt they'd locked down agreement with the Europeans on a topic, only to see that consensus unravel because directorates in the EU bureaucracy hadn't signed off on the terms. They say this has happened in negotiations over trade in services, slowing the momentum of the talks, which have already been under way for four years…
Friction in negotiations comes as a bigger trade fish looms for the European Union: the United States. Leaders of both countries at the G8 meetings in Northern Ireland Monday said they plan to start EU-U.S. trade agreement talks next month – a development that threatens to overshadow Canada's negotiations with Brussels.
This article is available in its entirety at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/eu-says-its-been-waiting-for-canada-to-make-compromises-on-trade-deal/article12636160/#dashboard/follows/ (subscription may be required)