"CETA: EU approves trade deal with Canada", 15 Feb 2017

The European Union’s parliament approved a trade deal with Canada on Wednesday, extolling the pact as a sign of co-operation at a time when many political forces are trying to halt globalization...[T]he EU’s legislature approved the deal by a margin of 408 for, 254 against with 33 abstentions, allowing for its provisional entry into force...The deal will drop barriers between the EU’s economy of half a billion people and Canada’s 35 million...Critics say it could dilute standards for food safety or labour rights by giving more power to big corporations...[C]oncerns about the deal’s implications were palpable among activists and protesters.  “What will happen is more and more deregulation, less social protection for citizens, for small companies, for independent workers,” said Maika Fernandes, who had travelled from Alicante, southern Spain.  “No one will be able to compete with the multinationals.  It will be a financial Europe that will favour only big multinationals.”...EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom tried to assuage those concerns saying it “will not change food safety standards or any other EU requirements. Only the EU institutions can do that.”...