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Status: Ratified 1 December 2022<\/h4>\nStatus: Ratified 1 December 2022<\/h4>\nGermany has a bicameral system (Bundestag and Bundesrat). CETA was ratified under Germany\u2019s current \u201ctraffic light coalition\u201d government, composed of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP), with support from the largest opposition party, the Christian Democrats (CDU\/CSU). The Bundestag made its decision with a broad majority (559:110); the Bundesrat (upper house) had decided in September 2022 not to raise any objections. The German government tied ratification to the demand for additional EU-Canada interpretive declarations clarifying rules on investor protection, strengthening the role of the European Parliament in regulatory cooperation, and limiting the powers of the CETA Joint Committee.<\/p>\n
CETA was hotly debated in Germany, including among the partners in Chancellor Scholz\u2019s coalition government. Two coalition partners (Social Democratic Party and Free Democratic Party) supported CETA\u2019s ratification; the third coalition partner, the Greens, was critical but ultimately agreed to ratification. The far-right Alternative for Germany and the far left Linke opposed ratification. Criticism of CETA was also voiced by trade unionists, environmentalists, and consumer advocacy groups. These included Attac Germany, Health and Environmental Justice Support, and LobbyControl. Opponents argued that CETA gives multinational corporations a \u201cparallel justice system\u201d, which has the potential to erode the precautionary principle and in turn, workers\u2019 rights and food safety. Moreover, opponent CSOs argued that CETA was a \u201ctrojan horse\u201d deal for an eventual EU-US agreement. Proponents of CETA included the Federation of German Industries.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Germany had a trade surplus in goods trade with Canada of \u20ac5.57 billion, making it as Canada’s largest trading partner within the EU (Eurostat<\/a>). Moreover, imports from Canada were \u20ac4.45 billion, 1% of Germany’s imports from outside the EU. Exports were \u20ac10.03 billion, 1.6% of Germany’s extra-EU exports (Eurostat<\/a>). Canada-Germany bilateral goods trade (imports + exports) grew by\u00a0 \u20ac2.58 billion, or 17.1%, between 2016 and 2019 (Statistics Canada<\/a>).<\/p>\n Euractiv. (August 2022). “Germany\u2019s Scholz visits Canada to build \u2018reliable network\u2019”. Link.<\/a> <\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to return to CETA Tracker: Main Page<\/p>\n Click here<\/a> for the Centre for European Studies, EU Learning.<\/p>\nSources<\/h4>\n
\nLaw Society of Ireland Gazette. (August 2022). “Commission agrees CETA text with Germany”. Link<\/a>.
\nHengeler Mueller News. (July 2022). “German Federal Government clears the way for CETA ISDS”. Link<\/a>.
\nMalta Business. (July 2022). “German parties agree to ratify EU-Canada trade agreement”. Link<\/a>.
\nCision. (Februrary 2017). “Prime Minister Trudeau concludes successful visit to Europe”. Link.<\/a>
\nCorporate Europe Observatory. (November 2016). “European and Canadian civil society groups call for rejection of CETA”. Link<\/a>
\nBloomberg. (March 2021). “EU-Canada Trade Pact Lawsuit Tossed by Top German Court”. Link.<\/a>
\nDW News. (August 2016). “Growing protest against TTIP and CETA trade agreements in Germany”. Link.<\/a>
\nEschbach, A. The Ratification Process in EU Member States – A presentation with particular consideration of the TTIP and CETA free trade agreements. Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Link<\/a>
\nEuropean Greens. (2017). “The German Greens outline an ambitious 10-point plan for the 2017 Bundestag elections.” Link.<\/a>
\nGotev, G. (Februrary 2017). “French and German socialists divided by CETA vote”. Euractiv. Link.<\/a>
\nRadio Canada International. (June 2017) “Canada’s Green Party leader in Berlin: Don’t ratify CETA”. Link.<\/a>
\nSiekierski, BJ. (September 2016). “Germany’s Social Democrats vote to support CETA”. Link.<\/a>
\nThe Federal Constitutional Court. (March 2021). “Unsuccessful application in Organstreit proceedings concerning the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement”. Judgement 2 BvE 4\/16. Link.<\/a><\/p>\n