What changed

Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on the implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

P9_TA(2024)0026

Rapporteur: Javier MORENO SÁNCHEZ (S&D / ES)

Implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

Reference numbers: 2023/2001 (INI) / A9-0400/2023 / P9_TA (2024)0026

Committee on International Trade

Date of adoption of the resolution: 17 January 2024

PE753.671

Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on International Trade (INTA)

European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2024 on the implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (2023/2001(INI))

Brief analysis/assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:

– having regard to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part,

In its resolution, the Parliament takes stock of the implementation and impact of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) following six years of provisional application. The Parliament resolution is very positive in its assessment of CETA. The Parliament emphasises CETA’s contribution to further strengthening close relations, bilateral trade in goods and services, as well as supply chain resilience between the European Union (EU) and Canada notably in the current geopolitical context and Canada’s strong role as a partner and ally on Ukraine and its future reconstruction. Further, the Parliament welcomes the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership on Critical Raw Materials within the framework of CETA as fully in line with the European Economic Security Strategy.

– having regard to the Joint Interpretative Instrument on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union and its Member States,

Beyond mere economic gains, the Parliament notes that under CETA, new jobs and business opportunities have been created, on both sides. In this regard, the Parliament also receives favourably the progress on the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for professional qualifications of architects. The Parliament welcomes the actions undertaken to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as the launch of the Access2Markets platform, which have contributed to the fact that more SMEs are benefitting from CETA. The Parliament emphasises that efforts must continue to allow SMEs to engage in trade and investment under CETA, including through facilitation of their internationalisation and suggests for the future the creation of a dedicated CETA chapter on SMEs.

– having regard to the Strategic Partnership on Critical Raw Materials between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part, which was agreed and launched at the EU-Canada Summit of 14-15 June 2021,

In relation to trade and sustainable development (TSD), the Parliament welcomes CETA’s climate and environmental provisions which are in accordance with the European Green Deal, as well as the EU-Canada Green Alliance as a key enabler for the green transition. Further, the Parliament underlines the importance of dispute settlement under the TSD chapter and underlines the potential of modernising the chapter once CETA is fully ratified.

– having regard to Decision No X/2023 of the CETA Joint Committee on the interpretation of certain terms in Article 8.10, Annex 8-A and Article 8.39,

Concerning trade and gender, the Parliament welcomes the adoption of a recommendation and action plan under CETA. In addition, the Parliament requests that the Commission publishes more easily accessible, gender-disaggregated data on CETA.

– having regard to its position of 15 February 2017 on the draft Council Decision on the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part,

The Parliament notes favourably efforts undertaken to actively involve a wide variety of stakeholders, including indigenous peoples’ representatives, in CETA implementation and monitoring through the Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) and the Civil Society Forum. However, the Parliament deems it necessary to identify further concrete measures to promote involvement of social and solidarity economy actors, as well as small-scale farmers and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.

– having regard to the Opinion 2/15 of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 16 May 2017 pursuant to Article 218(11) TFEU on the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore,

As regards sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) matters, the Parliament welcomes the introduction of harmonised EU export certificates for the export of fresh poultry from authorised Member States and calls for progress on similar certificates for processed meat and sheep or goat meat, and traceability systems for meat products. Also, the Parliament underlines the importance that CETA applies the principle of regionalisation as regards livestock production.

– having regard to the Joint Declarations of the EU and the Canada Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs),

In its cooperation with Canadian authorities, the Parliament further calls on the Commission to pay particular attention to the implementation of certain provisions, notably (1) equivalence of and safeguards for animal welfare standards, (2) a transparent and flexible tariff rate quota (TRQ) management system, (3) geographical indications (GIs) protection for EU rights holders in Canada, (4) the precautionary principle, and (5) access to public procurement.

– having regard to the Commission report of 11 October 2022 entitled ‘Implementation and Enforcement of EU Trade Agreements’ (COM(2022)0730),

Overall, the Parliament finds CETA to have had a positive impact since its provisional application and calls on the ten EU Member States that have not yet ratified CETA to ratify the agreement as quickly as possible.

– having regard to the Commission communication of 22 June 2022 entitled ‘The power of trade partnerships: together for green and just economic growth’ (COM(2022)0409),

Response to the requests and overview of the actions taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:

– having regard to the report of the CETA Joint Committee of 31 March 2023 following its third meeting,

The Commission welcomes the resolution of the Parliament on the implementation of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and particularly the clear support for CETA. In the current geopolitical and geoeconomic context, CETA has proven itself to be a central pillar of the EU-Canada partnership, based on shared interests and a commitment to rules-based trade, bringing benefits beyond pure economic gains.

– having regard to its resolution of 23 June 2022 on the future of EU international investment policy,

The Commission agrees with the Parliament that CETA, since its provisional application, has provided an exceptional platform to work together on a broad range of trade- and investment-related matters, including notably on trade and sustainable development, supporting the EU’s and Canada’s respective transition paths to green, digital and just economies, built on shared interests and mutual respect for human rights and labour and environmental standards.

– having regard to the CETA Joint Committee recommendations of 26 September 2018 on trade, climate action and the Paris Agreement, on Trade and Gender and on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs),

The Commission concurs with the Parliament that the predictability provided by CETA has fostered economic growth, the exchange of goods, the provision of services, participation in public procurement, the attractiveness of investment, quality employment, the creation of more and better paid jobs, and improved working conditions and living standards. The Commission agrees with the Parliament that CETA keeps delivering concrete and positive results – defying all initial fears and criticism.

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

The Commission has started the process of conducting an ex-post evaluation of CETA with a view to presenting its results in 2025. The evaluation will analyse economic, social and environmental aspects of the provisionally applied parts of the agreement and will provide important insights into its functioning as well as areas of potential future improvement.

– having regard to the reports of the different specialised committees, the Civil Society Forum and the Regulatory Cooperation Forum,

The Commission fully concurs with the Parliament’s emphasis on ensuring that SMEs can fully benefit from the agreement which is something that has been a priority for the implementation work under CETA and is notably at the centre of the SME Recommendation adopted by the CETA Joint Committee in 2018. The overall number of EU exporters to Canada has increased with more than 2 500 additional European SMEs between 2016 and 2019. This increase is twice as high than the growth rate for the rest of the world. In terms of concrete actions, the Commission would like to underline that the Access2Markets tool with its parts on goods, rules of origin, services and procurement is fully operational for CETA. SMEs are constantly trained on the different tools and the Commission continues to raise awareness of CETA among stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic. In September 2021 the Commission organised a round table event with SMEs on CETA. The Commission also would like to underline that it will ensure special focus in the ex-post evaluation on SMEs and the benefits CETA provides to them. The Commission also points out that the SME recommendation from 2018 mirrors the SME chapters of New Zealand and Chile namely to ensure a publicly accessible website with user friendly content and an SMEs Contact Point (paragraph 10, 22 and 24).

– having regard to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published on 20 March 2023,

At the CETA Joint Committee on 9 February 2024, the EU and Canada announced the conclusion at the technical level of negotiations for supplemental rules to facilitate the access of SMEs to CETA’s investment dispute resolution system, the Investment Court System. These rules would start to apply following full entry into force of CETA after completed ratification.

– having regard to the successive audits carried out in 2014, 2019 and 2022 by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety on the traceability and quality of the control systems in place governing the production of beef and pork intended for export to the European Union,

As regards CETA’s contributions to facilitating mobility of professionals, the European Commission would like to recall that Free Trade Agreements and CETA in this case do not deal with labour mobility but rather with the movement of professionals. In this respect, the EU and Canada have concluded negotiations and are preparing the adoption of an agreement on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications of architects. This agreement will be the first of its kind for the EU and under CETA and will further demonstrate that CETA delivers tangible benefits for professionals and small businesses, as it will facilitate the process of seeking recognition for professional qualifications across the EU and Canada. Furthermore, the Commission cooperates actively with Canada to ensure full implementation of the CETA provisions on temporary movement of professionals (mode 4). Coordination is made through the “contact points” set up via CETA Article 10.5 to implement the transparency obligations on procedures applicable to mode 4 suppliers. This constructive cooperation can be demonstrated through the regular updates made to the EU Immigration Portal, which is the main for providing transparency to third-country service providers, including those from Canada (paragraph 7).

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as Article 1(1)(e) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

The Commission concurs with the Parliament as regards the importance of EU-Canada cooperation in relation to critical raw materials. The signing in July 2021 of the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership on Critical Raw Materials in addition to the existing Dialogue on raw materials under the framework of CETA, is contributing to even more closely integrating EU-Canada raw material value chains and fostering respective investments (paragraphs 8 and 9).

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development,

The Commission emphasises the contribution CETA can make to strengthening trade and sustainable development, respect for human and labour rights and to protect the climate (paragraph 1). Notably, implementation of CETA’s Trade and Sustainable Development chapter caters for new sustainability challenges which ensure that CETA continues delivering, including for SMEs. At the last TSD Committee in April 2023, the EU and Canada identified new joint activities and new areas of engagement were triggered by the views from the civil society. Experts committed to share information and best practices on environmental priorities, sharing experience and cooperating in promoting high labour standard in third countries, and cooperating to bundle efforts vis-à-vis shared future FTA partners. The EU and Canada are also exploring ways to integrate elements from the EU Trade and Sustainable Development review Communication into the work under this chapter as appropriate (paragraph 29).

– having regard to the report of the Committee on International Trade (A9-0400/2023),

As regards trade and gender, the Commission welcomes the Parliament’s strong stance on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment (paragraph 25). The Trade and Gender Recommendation adopted by the CETA Joint Committee acknowledges the importance of incorporating a gender perspective in economic and trade issues under CETA to ensure that economic growth benefits everyone. The work plan adopted under the Recommendation foresees applying a gender lens to all CETA committee work and foresees numerous targeted activities to support women’s participation in trade between the EU and Canada. This has already resulted in a roundtable for women active in EU-Canada trade, and a workshop on gender-responsive standards and future events.

A. whereas CETA was among the first trade agreements the EU completed with another major established OECD economy after South Korea: whereas it was also the most ambitious and comprehensive agreement either the EU or Canada had concluded at the time, including unprecedented access to public procurement at sub-federal as well as federal level;

The Commission agrees with the importance of having gender disaggregated data collected. Eurostat is already working on ways of integrating this into its data collection efforts. The European Commission’s ex-post evaluation will examine qualitatively and to the extent possible quantitatively the effects of the implementation of CETA on gender equality.

B. whereas CETA has been provisionally applied since 21 September 2017, i.e. for more than six years;

As regards the precautionary principle, the Commission would like to underline the fact that EU law protects the EU governments’ right to act to protect human, animal or plant health, or the environment, in the face of a perceived risk, even when scientific analysis is not conclusive. EU law enshrines this principle. CETA refers specifically and clearly to the right to regulate and to the principles underlying the regulatory regime of each party (paragraph 26).

C. whereas important provisions, in particular relating to investment protection, have still not been applied, as not all Member States have ratified the agreement;

As regards sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) matters, the Commission assures the Parliament that EU’s sanitary, phytosanitary, and veterinary standards remain unchanged for the implementation of CETA as with all other EU trade agreements while ensuring the continuation of adequate controls on these standards (paragraph 4).

D. whereas Canada and the EU are finalising a draft Decision of the CETA Joint Committee on the interpretation of certain terms in Article 8.10, Annex 8-A and Article 8.39 specifying the remit of the right to regulate in the context of the investment protection chapter and on the facilitation of the access by SMEs to the investment court system under CETA;

As recalled by the Parliament, the Commission continues to work with Canada to harmonise health certificates for EU exports of different products. In turn, Canada has committed to finalise the process for the harmonisation of exports of EU processed meat products by June 2024 (paragraph 13). The Commission has discussed with Canada that harmonised certificates for exports of EU sheep and goat meat and EU casings should follow soon after. At the same time, the Commission continues to insist with Canada to speed up the work regarding the pending market access applications of EU Member States, both for exports of EU animal and plant products (paragraph 14).

E. whereas the EU was Canada’s third largest trading partner after the United States and China, accounting for 8,2 % of its trade in goods with the world in 2022; whereas Canada ranked 14th among the EU’s international trading partners for the same year, accounting for almost 1,4 % of the EU’s total external trade in goods;

On the regionalisation principle, the Commission is aware and continues to follow the matter closely with Canada. Regarding regionalisation recognition, the Commission has been successful concerning Asian longhorn beetle and Citrus longhorn beetle, where now Canada recognises 21 EU countries being free of these diseases. The Commission continues to discuss this matter with Canada and any other specific problem related to market access applications of fruits and vegetables and on the recognition of pest free areas. This work has resulted in some new market access openings for EU fruits being obtained in recent years (paragraph 14).

F. whereas Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has demonstrated the need to diversify trade agreements and reduce dependence on imports and exports from a limited number of trade partners, as well as the importance of concluding trade agreements with like-minded partners;

Concerning animal welfare standards, the Commission agrees with the Parliament on the need to facilitate ongoing cooperation with the Canadian authorities (paragraph 15). The EU has always been at the forefront of the development of a robust and science-based legislative model on animal welfare. Such a model has also been disseminated on an international scale, including through cooperation with Canada under CETA.

G. whereas the effective implementation and the monitoring of the EU’s trade agreements is a key priority for Parliament, the Council and the Commission in order to monitor, assess and calibrate the EU’s common commercial policy (CCP); whereas reporting on the implementation of the agreement with Canada is a timely and useful contribution to the reflection on the functioning of EU trade agreements;

At present, the EU requires equivalent measures to EU provisions on welfare at slaughter for the import of animal products into the Union. There are also some equivalent provisions required in the case of welfare during transport when live animals are imported into the Union. The Commission will continue to actively promote animal welfare internationally at bilateral and multilateral front and to conduct initiatives to cooperate and increase awareness among third countries.

H. whereas the institutional framework under CETA is now fully in place, with 19 specialised committees, a regulatory cooperation forum and a civil society forum, and their agendas and reports are publicly available;

The Commission supports the views of the Parliament on the importance of respect for sustainable agricultural production, reciprocity and maintaining high standards, in particular sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary standards, as well as of adequate controls and monitoring mutual compliance with those standards in the implementation of EU trade agreements, including CETA (paragraph 4). Following the 2021 EU-Canada Summit, both parties launched a dialogue on sustainability, environmental stewardship, and climate action in agriculture. Concluded in December 2023, the dialogue featured joint events to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices on several topics, such as soil health, greenhouse gas reduction in livestock, organic farming, better use of fertilisers and sustainable crop protection.

I. whereas Canada was the first country with which the EU established a Strategic Partnership on Critical Raw Materials, which has been subsequently complemented by a Green Alliance Initiative, an EU-Canada Digital Partnership and an Ocean Partnership;

The Commission continuously exchanges with Canada on effective administrative enforcement of GIs, including on establishment of a list of users of grandfathered names. The Commission has notably reiterated its concern with the outcome of GI-related labelling complaints that were submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Given CFIA’s limited mandate for administrative enforcement of GIs, Canada developed a webpage to inform stakeholders of CETA GI obligations and enforcement in the Canadian market and carried out outreach in the provinces. The Commission will explore further how Canada’s legal system to protect GI names is actually used by EU GI holders.

J. whereas Canada is an active participant in the WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade and the WTO Trade and Environment Committee, but is not a member of the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative;

There has been notable progress recently at provincial level towards resolution of issues with protection of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Champagne: eliminating the issue of “méthode champenois” in Quebec as well as a positive proposal to eliminate the reference to PDO Champagne in the federal compositional standards for cider.

K. whereas there is now sufficient experience, data and statistical information to assess the provisional implementation of CETA;

The Commission is working with Canada to finalise the decision to include additional oenological practices as well as 22 EU wine names and one EU spirit drink name in the Annex of the 2003 Wines and Spirits Agreement (paragraph 19).

L. whereas Canada is a world leader in the co-construction of public policy for the social and solidarity economy, and whereas the social and solidarity economy represents almost 10 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in certain provinces, such as Quebec, accounting for approximately 210 000 jobs;

The Commission supports the Parliament’s call for the report on the operation of the cheese TRQ to be finalised as soon as possible, noting that it had first called for a mid-term review in 2019 and that the promised comprehensive TRQ review has been postponed on several occasions, without a definitive end date in view.

Main conclusions and recommendations

With regards to the UK, the Commission has noted that, as part of the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement, some specific agreements on TRQ use expired on 1 January 2024 and will continue monitoring the situation in order to avoid any potential negative effects for EU operators (paragraph 32).

1. Highlights that CETA relies on a rules- and values-based relationship which promotes a more secure and stable economic environment between the trading partners, which is particularly important in the context of heightened geopolitical uncertainties, built on the principles of sustainable development and respect for human rights and labour and environmental standards; considers that such predictability can foster economic growth, the exchange of goods, the provision of services, participation in public procurement, the attractiveness of investment, quality employment, the creation of more and better-paid jobs, and improved working conditions and living standards; notes, however, that CETA needs to further strengthen sustainable development, respect for human and labour rights and to protect the climate;

The Commission takes good note of the European Parliament’s references to issues that should be taken into account if CETA were to be amended or modified in the future (including references to the TSD chapter, the issue of outermost regions, an SME chapter) but stresses that the priority remains for now to ensure that CETA can enter into force in its entirety following finalisation of all national ratification procedures.

2. Notes with satisfaction that trade in goods between the EU and Canada increased by 66 % between 2016 and 2022, while EU-Canada trade in services increased by 46 %, outperforming other extra-EU trade; notes the fact that EU goods exports to Canada increased by 47 % during the first five years of provisional application, where the biggest gains were registered in the cases of manufactured products, chemical products as well as food and animal products; notes that most of the concerns expressed before the provisional application of the agreement regarding the influx of Canadian agricultural products into the EU market, have not materialised; observes that Canadian exports to the EU saw an increase of 46,4 %, where the biggest gains were registered in ores, precious stones and metals, and mineral fuels and oils;

Finally, the Commission shares the Parliament’s view of the importance of the ongoing ratification process. The ratification procedures in EU Member States remain complex. The European Commission continues to support Member States in their efforts as appropriate and necessary and would like to underline the importance of showcasing the concrete benefits CETA is delivering since provisional application to feed into any debates on CETA.

3. Underlines the considerable growth in bilateral trade in food and agricultural products between the EU and Canada, with EU agri-food exports to Canada increasing by 62 % and EU imports of such products from Canada by 52 % since the start of the provisional application of CETA; notes that this has significantly benefited producers and exporters on both sides and has also contributed to job creation; welcomes the substantial increase in the number of the Union’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises exporting to Canada, as well as in the value of their exported products, noting that the agreement thus significantly serves their interests;

4. Stresses that, in the implementation of CETA, as with all other EU trade agreements, due account must be taken of respect for sustainable agricultural production, reciprocity and maintaining high standards, in particular sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary standards, as well as of adequate controls and monitoring mutual compliance with those standards;

5. Welcomes the fact that trade flows between the parties have generally proven to be resilient throughout the pandemic, as well as the difficult situation created by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, thereby resisting pressure on supply chains and contributing to strengthened food security; takes the view that CETA should serve as a tool to facilitate cooperation and joint action in the reconstruction of Ukraine once the war is over;

6. Underlines that EU exports are key to employment; welcomes the fact that CETA has contributed to creating new job opportunities, as the number of jobs supported by EU exports to Canada rose from 624 000 in 2017 to more than 700 000 in 2021;

7. Stresses the importance of labour mobility facilitation granted under CETA, as it helps ensure an adequate skills transfer between the EU and Canada and avoid shortages of qualified labour; welcomes, in this regard, the successful conclusion in 2022 of the first Mutual Recognition Agreement under CETA for architects’ qualifications; takes the view that the EU Blue Card could further facilitate exchanges between two competitive economies with a highly educated population; underlines that exchange programmes between EU and Canadian academic institutions can further contribute to the necessary labour mobility in the long run;

8. Notes that the two most important product categories that the EU and Canada export to each other are machinery and transport equipment, accounting for around 34 % of both exports and imports, and chemical, pharmaceutical and plastic products, making up around 20 % of total exports and imports; notes, however, that the mining and extraction sector, in particular fertilisers, nickel, uranium and sand oils is highly significant when it comes to imports from Canada, compared to other trading partners, accounting for nearly 20 % of the EU’s total imports from Canada; highlights that access to critical raw materials from reliable trading partners, including Canada, is a key element of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Strategy and vital to delivering a sustainable green transition;

9. Stresses that cooperation on access to critical raw materials is essential in the current geopolitical landscape, as well as for the green and just transitions, and welcomes the signing in July 2021 of the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership on Critical Raw Materials within the framework of CETA, which should help to integrate EU-Canada raw material value chains and foster collaboration in science, technology and innovation; notes that this constitutes an important component of the European economic security strategy; is convinced that raw materials extraction needs to occur with respect for environmental standards and labour and human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples;

10. Welcomes the fact that European and Canadian firms are making increasing and continuous use of preferences granted by CETA, with preference utilisation rates for both the EU and Canada standing at 60 % in 2022 compared to 40 % and 52 % respectively in 2018; notes with interest that smaller companies are using the preferences to a larger extent than large companies and that utilisation rates are significantly higher for agri-food industries compared to manufacturing industries; stresses that the low utilisation rates in key sectors for several EU members indicate foregone cost savings and diminished welfare gains from the agreement; encourages both partners to continue to promote actions to raise awareness of CETA among stakeholders in both regions, including through the EU’s ‘Access2Markets’ platform; underlines the importance of facilitating new opportunities for businesses and consumers through digital trade in line with EU standards;

11. Notes that the utilisation rate of the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for beef and veal imports to the EU was only 3 % in 2021, and that EU exporters have expanded their market share in Canada, such that the EU exports more frozen beef to Canada than it imports from it; notes, however, that the utilisation rate of this TRQ may change over time as a result of variations in Canada’s other export markets, in particular the US and China;

12. Highlights that according to the audit report of the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, Canada has yet to satisfactorily implement the recommendations made in the Directorate-General’s audit on the traceability and quality of the control systems in place governing the production of beef and pork intended for export to the European Union;

13. Welcomes the introduction of a harmonised EU export certificate for the export of fresh poultry from authorised Member States, which became operational in 2021; calls on the Commission to pursue further progress on similar certificates for processed meat and sheep or goat meat, while increasing efforts to ensure stronger traceability systems for meat products; calls on the Commission, in the framework of the Management Committee and in cooperation with the Canadian authorities and Member States, to make progress on the recognition of the remaining meat inspection systems in order to allow the remaining Member States to export meat to Canada;

14. Notes, with regret, that CETA does not apply the principle of regionalisation in general, solely considering the EU as a single area with regard to livestock production, but not with regard to the fruit and vegetables sector, which means that each Member State has to individually negotiate and agree on export requirements for each product; calls for this flaw to be remedied as soon as possible within the framework of the EU-Canada Joint Management Committee;

15. Calls on the Commission to facilitate ongoing cooperation with the Canadian authorities aimed at increasing attention to safeguards for animal welfare standards in CETA and evaluating the feasibility of establishing, in the future, mirror clauses in this area to guarantee the equivalence of animal welfare standards and thus a level playing field between EU and imported animal products;

16. Points out that EU trade policy, and CETA in particular, has a significant economic impact on the outermost regions (ORs), and therefore stresses the need to protect the interests of those regions in future negotiations or a possible review of the agreement;

17. Maintains that part of the tariffs and TRQs assigned to EU products should be allocated to operators registered in the ORs, taking account of their economic situation; stresses that differential treatment for operators in the ORs is key to ensuring the competitiveness of businesses and the fair distribution of tariffs and TRQs among commercial agents by avoiding the restriction of benefits to a small number of operators;

18. Takes note of the fact that the TRQ utilisation rate stands at 98 % for EU cheese exports on average; calls, nevertheless, for a more transparent and flexible Canadian TRQ management system for dairy products, in particular the cheese quota, and urges the Canadian authorities to move forward with a potential review of the system as soon as possible;

19. Highlights the importance of recognising the system of geographical indications (GIs) as a key component of the agreement; underlines the need for further effective enforcement of GIs protection for EU rights holders in Canada, in order to ensure trust in the correct functioning of the agreement;

20. Takes note of the fact that during the first six years of provisional application of CETA, the EU’s exports to and imports from Canada in services have grown by 54 % and 74 %, respectively, with the highest gains in transport services, business services and information, computer and telecommunications services, in particular benefiting smaller EU Member States where services features significantly in the economic structure of the country;

21. Welcomes the concrete efforts to facilitate access to public procurement, such as the Single Point of Access in Canada; takes the view that even if many more EU businesses are successfully participating in Canadian tenders, such as for regional rail passenger transport in Ontario or bridges in Montreal, EU suppliers could take even further advantage of the opportunities offered, in particular as regards infrastructure projects and bidding for provincial and municipal contracts;

22. Calls on the parties to make available all the legal and administrative support and tools SMEs need to engage in trade and investment under CETA, in order to foster an increase in exchanges and to enhance participation so they can reap the benefits of CETA, including through active measures to facilitate the internationalisation of SMEs, simplify procedures and address technical barriers to trade that disproportionately affect SMEs; welcomes, in this regard, the recommendation on SMEs adopted by the Joint Committee in 2018, and the subsequent action plans, including concrete actions such as the launch of the Access2Markets platform in October 2020, which supports SMEs with practical information on trade agreements and trade barriers; expects the expost evaluation to provide data on the evolution of the share of trade between EU and Canada carried out by SMEs; calls on the Parties to contemplate the possibility of a fully fledged chapter on SMEs analogous to those in the agreements with New Zealand and Chile;

23. Given the importance of the social and solidarity economy sector in Canada and the action plan for the social economy adopted by the Commission on 9 December 2021, calls on the Joint Committee to identify what concrete measures could be put in place to promote more cooperation between social and solidarity actors across the Atlantic;

24. Encourages both parties to continue their outreach activities, in particular focusing on SMEs and on Social and Solidarity Economy actors, to raise awareness about the opportunities offered by CETA through targeted information campaigns, while ensuring that the benefits of the agreement are shared equally between men and women;

25. Welcomes the adoption of the recommendation on Trade and Gender by the CETA Joint Committee as early as 2018, which includes a commitment to share methods and procedures for the collection of gender disaggregated data, the use of indicators, monitoring and evaluation methodologies, and the analysis of gender-focused statistics related to trade; underlines that trade should benefit all, and specifically strengthen women’s economic empowerment; strongly encourages the CETA Joint Committee to continue monitoring the impacts of the agreement on gender; takes the view that the work carried out under the jointly adopted action plan can serve as an example for other trade agreements, even when there are no dedicated chapters on trade and gender in the agreement itself; recalls Parliament’s resolution on the Gender Action Plan III and encourages the Commission to publish more easily accessible gender disaggregated data on the usage of the agreement, particularly in relation to the chapters on public procurement and on trade and labour;

26. Calls on the Commission to prevent the precautionary principle from being weakened as a basic principle of the European Union enshrined in the Treaties and a guarantor of the protection of European farmers and citizens; highlights the importance of promoting the precautionary principle in all aspects of trade and ensuring its application, while avoiding unjustified barriers to trade;

27. Underlines that CETA provides a framework that fosters both trade and climate action by including commitments to cooperate on trade-related environmental issues of common interest such as climate change, as demonstrated by the recommendation on trade, climate action and the Paris Agreement, notably with the promotion of clean technologies; underlines the importance of Canadian-based global power production accelerating the clean energy transition by producing energy from renewable resources; welcomes the growth of the environmental goods trade by 27 % since provisional application started; notes, however, that Canada has considered elements of European legislative and non-legislative initiatives with regard to the European Green Deal as technical barriers to trade; invites the Parties to find synergies with the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and other initiatives in the EU, and to jointly support work to develop joint or comparable carbon emissions methodologies at international level;

28. Welcomes the launch of the EU-Canada Digital Partnership as a key enabler of the green and digital transitions; calls on both parties to strengthen their cooperation in the framework of CETA implementation on issues of strategic mutual interest such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and the fight against disinformation;

29. Welcomes the active involvement and monitoring of CETA implementation by the DAGs and the Civil Society Forum, which gathers hundreds of representatives from across the EU and Canada, including businesses, environmental and labour organisations, civil society, academia as well as indigenous peoples’ representatives from Canada, and actively contributing to the work of in particular the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Committee through their joint statements; urges the Commission and the TSD Board to follow up on their proposals; stresses that the mandate of the DAGs should also be to consider the sustainability impact of the full agreement; underlines the value of including considerations about the impact on sustainability and human rights of the investment protection chapter in their work;

30. Calls on both parties to ensure better integration of small-scale farmers and consumers in the DAGs in the context of the renewal of these groups;

31. Insists on the effective implementation of the specific commitments related to the TSD provisions, including the early TSD review committed to in the Joint Interpretative Instrument, which has not been forthcoming, as integral parts of CETA and essential to the accomplishment of the objectives set; takes note that in 2024, the Commission will conduct an ex post evaluation of CETA, including its TSD chapter, involving independent experts, which will be an opportunity to assess it against the Commission’s new approach of June 2022 and to consider taking on board concrete proposals put forward by Canada in 2020 to give a more binding scope to certain provisions of this chapter; recalls that the Joint Committee can provide a binding decision establishing implementation roadmaps to strengthen cooperation in areas where the ex post evaluation would identify shortcomings and expects them to actively do so; believes that efforts targeting better implementation of the TSD chapter or its review should be preceded by a meaningful consultation of all stakeholders;

32. Notes that the UK ceased to be a member of the European Union following the provisional application of CETA; notes that the UK and Canada have agreed a series of bilateral trading arrangements to take account of this, including with regards to TRQ use and cumulation; notes that some of these agreements will cease to apply after 2024, which may present minor disruptions to established supply chains; calls on the Commission to explore the possibility for new agreements where these disruptions may negatively affect Union economic operators;

33. Calls on the parties to review CETA, once ratified, making use of the review clause, in order to introduce a suitable and effective dispute settlement mechanism for the TSD, including the consideration of, among various enforcement methods, sanctions as a deterrent to be used, as a last resort, in the case of serious breaches; highlights its wish to contemplate institutionalising the ongoing cooperation on trade and gender in this review; stresses that this review should consider introducing specific strong provisions on the rights of indigenous peoples, including International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

34. Urges Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia to swiftly ratify CETA, as this will also be essential in order to update the agreement, and reiterates the importance of full application of CETA, including its investment protection provisions;

35. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the Government and Parliament of Canada.