比利时一地方议会挫败欧盟 加拿大贸易协定
European trade policy has been thrown into disarray after Belgium’s government said it could not overcome objections in a regional parliament to an EU-Canada trade deal, despite weeks of talks to rescue the agreement.
欧洲的贸易政策已陷入混乱，此前比利时政府称其无法解决一个地区议会对欧盟-加拿大贸易协定的反对，尽管有关各方已进行数周谈判来挽救该协定。
The so-called Ceta pact is on the brink of collapse because of anti-globalisation objections in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of 3.5m people located a short drive from Brussels.
瓦隆大区(Wallonia)的反全球化抗议意味着，欧盟与加拿大达成的《综合经济与贸易协定》(CETA)正处于崩溃边缘。瓦隆以法语作为主要语言，人口350万，距离布鲁塞尔只有一小段车程。
Analysts say the power of a small region in one EU nation to frustrate a deal agreed on behalf of the bloc’s 500m people bodes ill for looming trade talks between the EU and a post-Brexit UK.
分析人士称，一个欧盟国家的小小地方政府竟然有权力阻挠代表欧盟5亿人口签署的协定，对于即将开始的欧盟与退欧后的英国之间的贸易谈判是不祥之兆。
The EU pact with Canada must be approved by all 28 member states before taking effect. Charles Michel, Belgian premier, supports the deal but said yesterday he could not sign it because Wallonia’s local parliament had voted against the agreement.
欧盟与加拿大之间达成的协定，必须由所有28个成员国批准后才能生效。比利时首相夏尔.米歇尔(Charles Michel)支持该协定，但他昨日表示，由于瓦隆地方议会投票反对该协定，导致他无法签字。
The Ceta pact was to be signed at a long-planned ceremony on Thursday in Brussels. Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, and Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, resolved in an emergency phone call to continue efforts to try to save the deal.
该协定原定于周四在布鲁塞尔一场策划已久的仪式上签署通过。加拿大总理贾斯廷.特鲁多(Justin Trudeau)与欧洲理事会(European Council)主席唐纳德.图斯克(Donald Tusk)进行了紧急通话，决心继续努力挽救该协定。
“We think Thursday’s summit is still possible. We encourage all parties to find a solution. There’s yet time,” Mr Tusk said on Twitter.
“我们认为周四的峰会仍有希望。我们鼓励有关各方找到一个解决方案。我们尚有时间，”图斯克在Twitter上表示。
The affair has humiliated EU leaders, who had hoped that the “new generation” Canadian deal would set a benchmark for the world and pave the way for an even bigger trade deal with the US.
该事件令欧盟领导人蒙羞，他们本希望与加拿大的这个“新一代”贸易协定能为全球树立一个标杆，并为将来与美国达成更大的贸易协定铺平道路。
“EU trade policy won’t survive in a world where trade agreements have to be ‘democratised’ by every single national parliament and sub-legislature across the EU before they see the light of day,” said Peter Mandelson, the former EU trade commissioner. “This is a dagger at the heart of European trade policy, which must revert to an exclusive EU competence.”
“欧盟的贸易政策无法在这样的世界生存，即贸易协定必须由欧盟所有国家的议会以及下级立法机构通过‘民主化’表决后才能生效，”欧盟前贸易专员彼得.曼德尔森(Peter Mandelson)说，“这是插入欧洲贸易政策心脏的一把匕首，这样的政策必须恢复至由欧盟胜任机构独家决定。”
John Clancy, senior adviser at FTI Consulting in Brussels, said the EU’s credibility had been damaged by the “political grandstanding” of the Walloon parliament. “The potential negative impacts are huge, including of course for a future EU-UK trade deal post-Brexit,” he added.
布鲁塞尔的FTI Consulting高级顾问约翰.克兰西(John Clancy)表示，瓦隆议会的“政治秀”损害了欧盟的信誉。“潜在的负面影响巨大，当然包括对未来英国退欧后欧盟-英国贸易协定的影响，”他补充道。
Efforts to placate the Walloons continue but officials are not optimistic after so many rounds of fruitless talks.
安抚瓦隆人的努力仍在继续，但经过如此多轮毫无结果的谈判，官员们并不乐观。
“Everyone bent over backwards to try to suit the Walloons. But at this stage politics trumps trade,” said a trade official in another member state.
“大家都竭尽全力讨好瓦隆人。但事到如今，政治压倒了贸易，”另一欧盟成员国的贸易官员说。
