Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the engagement he has had with his European counterparts on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18458/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a modern and progressive Free Trade Agreement which has provisionally applied across the EU since the 21st September 2017. The Agreement covers virtually every aspect of economic activity and will provide new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms given the extensive bilateral business links between Ireland and Canada. Indeed, outside of Europe, the US and China, Canada is our largest indigenous export market. More than 400 Enterprise Ireland clients are doing business in the Canadian market employing over 6,000 people. Since the commencement of provisional application, duties on 98% of products that the EU trades with Canada have been removed. Furthermore, exports of Irish goods and services to Canada totalled approximately €3.9 billion in 2019, the latest year full figures are available, a 35% increase compared to 2016, the last full year, prior to the provisional application of CETA.

Provisional application is a standard mechanism provided for in the EU’s Free Trade Agreements. This means that those areas where the EU has full competence may be applied immediately once the Agreement has been voted for by Council and the European Parliament. It is an important mechanism that allows companies and consumers to benefit from a trade agreement at an early stage, as the completion of national ratification procedures across all 27 Member States can take a number of years. In this regard, Ireland, like many Member States, was awaiting the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding the compatibility of CETA with EU law prior to our commencing the formal ratification process for Ireland.

The Opinion of the Court in Case 1/17 was issued on 30th April 2019 and held that the dispute settlement mechanism in CETA is compatible with EU law and complies with (i) the principle of autonomy of EU law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the CJEU for the interpretation of EU law, (ii) the principle of equal treatment and of the requirement of effectiveness of EU law; and(iii) the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular of the right of access to a court and right to an independent and impartial tribunal under the Charter. The Opinion of the CJEU, allowed Member States to proceed with domestic ratification, according to the requirements of their national law.

Though provisional application has seen the introduction of new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms as well as the removal of duties on 98% of products that the EU trades with Canada, one aspect of the Agreement which relates to how investment disputes are handled, is deemed to be a joint competency between the EU and Member States and is therefore subject to national ratification procedures in each Member State.

To date, 15 Member States have formally communicated the completion of their national procedures to the General Secretariat of the European Council.

For Ireland, I believe our own credibility in promoting open and fair global trade would be undermined if we are not in a position to ratify this Agreement.

As CETA has been provisionally applied since 2017 and each Member State is entitled to proceed to ratification in accordance with its own national procedures, CETA itself has not been a substantive discussion item at meetings of EU Trade Ministers in Council since I was appointed as Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment in June 2020. Nonetheless, I have kept colleagues up-to-date with Ireland's ratification process at suitable engagements as have my officials with the European Commission.