[JURIST] Representatives from the EU and Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) [materials] on Sunday. CETA is designed to eliminate tariffs and foster investments and it is hoped that it will go a long way to job generation. However, although it has been signed and portions are expected to go into effect in 2017 through provisional implementation, there are still many steps that must be taken for full implementation to occur. Those in favor of the treaty argue that it will increase Canadian trade with the European Union by 20 percent and create an economic boost. It must still be approved by the governments of approximately 40 nations before full implementation can take place.

In August three German organizations, Campact, foodwatch and Mehr Demokratie [JURIST report], submitted a complaint against the CETA to the Federal Constitutional Court. With more than 125,000 signatures, the activists claimed the complaint to be the largest public suit in the nation’s history. In a press release, foodwatch stated that the trade agreement, between the EU and Canada, violates Basic Law in four different respects. The trade agreement between the EU and Canada was reached [JURIST report] in 2013. At that point, CETA had been in negotiation for four years. The alliance would provide Canada with greater reach into the European market and eliminate as much as 98 percent of all tariffs. The EU has endorsed the notion that CETA will comply fully with European standards for workers and safety.