EU Commission Executive VP Dombrovskis co-chairs EU-Canada Joint Committee

Brussels, 9 February 2024

Today, a meeting of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) Joint Committee takes place in Brussels. The Committee will be co-chaired by Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, and the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada, Mary Ng.

During the meeting, both parties will discuss the positive results of CETA on companies, workers, and farmers across sectors, as well as the implementation of CETA and its ratification in the EU. The CETA Committee will adopt the agreements on the ‘Interpretation on Investment’ and additional rules to facilitate SME access to its Investment Court System. Some 2,500 SMEs have begun exporting to Canada thanks to CETA, making the Interpretation on Investment all the more important. These rules will ensure that SMEs have simplified and cheaper procedures as well as shorter timelines for dispute settlement. The Interpretation on Investment will further clarify the provisions on fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation. As well as the right to regulate in the context of the climate change, without amending CETA. Both sides will also lay the foundation for three new initiatives (digital, green and economic security) for future collaboration.

CETA has been provisionally applied for almost 7 years and delivers tangible, positive results across the EU and its 27 Member States, across sectors and from large to small companies. In 2022, our trade in goods increased by 66% (€77 billion) and trade in services by 62% (€41 billion), compared to pre-CETA levels (2016).

The meeting will be followed by a press point with Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Minister Mary Ng at 13:30. It will also be livestreamed on EbS.