Foreign ministry: Majority of EU states view CETA free trade deal as favourable

Budapest, October 3 (MTI) – The planned free trade deal between the European Union and Canada would create far better conditions for Hungary than its current bilateral agreement with Canada, and the majority of EU member states view the pact positively, a foreign and trade ministry official said on Monday.

State secretary László Szabó told a meeting of parliament’s sustainable development committee that any EU member state would be able to block the outcome of five years of negotiations. Support for the putative agreement, however, is much stronger than for TTIP, the pact being negotiated between the United States and the EU, he said.

Szabó warned that the process of ratification of the CETA pact could take years. A meeting of the EU General Affairs Council on October 18 would not end with the signing of a final agreement but a temporary one pending ratification, he added.

For the process to advance forward, Hungary’s parliament must approve the agreement in its current form. Before final approval there will be time to negotiate its precise wording, he said.