Just as Europe managed to pull its stalled trade pact with Canada from the brink of collapse, political strife in the Netherlands is threatening to scupper another important treaty: this time with Ukraine.
A vote on Oct. 28 in the parliament of Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, finally removed the primary obstacle to the delayed Ceta deal between the EU and Canada. The vote to allow Belgium’s government to proceed with Ceta followed a last-minute agreement with the country’s regional leaders, who had threatened to sink a pact that many had believed was already sealed.
