BRUSSELS (AP) — A key adviser to the European Union’s highest court says that a controversial element on dispute settlement in the free trade agreement with Canada complies with EU law.
Advocate General Yves Bot said Tuesday that the 2016 agreement does not impede the autonomy of EU law or question the exclusive right to interpret EU law.
The case was brought by Belgium, where the small region of Wallonia, population 3.6 million, long threatened to hold up the overall trade agreement between over 500 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians.
As Wallonia grudgingly backed the deal, it did so on the condition that the European Court of Justice would check the legality of dispute settlement between multinationals and governments.
The full court will rule on the case later.
