European leaders say trade deal with Canada is done
WATCH: PM Harper and EU leaders express their appreciation to have finalized the historic trade agreement.
OTTAWA The European Union leadership presented a united front on their trade agreement with Canada on Friday in an attempt to dampen concerns that some European countries might still scuttle the deal.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy stood shoulder to shoulder with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Parliament Hill, saying that all 28 EU countries support the deal.
Barroso and Van Rompuy joined Harper to declare in writing that their five tough years of negotiations were done and to push for a speedy final ratification of the deal in Europe and among Canadas 13 provinces and territories.
They did so in face of German opposition that resurfaced in the countrys parliament again on Thursday, after first rearing its head last month over the language of an investor-state dispute mechanism contained in a leaked text of the deal.
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The Canadian government also released the full text of the agreement on Friday, following years of criticism that the negotiations were too secretive.
The Canadian Press has also learned there is persistent worry that two unhappy eastern European countries could still derail the deal.
Canada requires visas for travellers from Romania and Bulgaria and some diplomats fear one or both of those countries could block ratification of the agreement if the requirement is not lifted.
Barroso said that a joint declaration that he, Van Rompuy and Harper signed just minutes earlier had the full backing of every member of the EU.