EU-Canada summit in Prague launches talks on trade deal

An EU-Canada summit was held in Prague on Wednesday as part of the Czech Republic’s presidency of the European Union. The summit saw the official launch of bilateral talks on free trade which would, among other things, allow for the lowering of tariffs and co-operation between the two sides on determining the origin of commodities. The EU and Canada could both gain EUR 20 billion a year from an agreement that should be completed by 2011. One point of contention ahead of the meeting was a European Parliament ban on Canadian seal products, though Canada’s trade minister, Stockwell Day, said the matter should not preclude agreement on a trade deal.