Leaders from the EU and Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on Sunday, following several weeks of talks to win the required backing of all 28 EU member states. The bilateral agreement aims to strengthen the economic relationship between the two transatlantic trading powers, such as by reducing barriers to trade and investment; improving public procurement market access; establishing transparent, predictable conditions for cooperation; and protecting commonly held values. European Council President Donald Tusk, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, currently holding the rotating EU Council presidency, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in signing the pact at the 16 th EU-Canada Summit , held 30 October in Brussels. The summit had initially been scheduled for earlier in the week, but the initial failure to reach consensus among Belgian regional authorities meant that the Canadian premier’s flight was postponed. (See Bridges Weekly, 27 October 2016 ) On Thursday, Belgian approval was eventually confirmed after a compromise was reached addressing concerns raised by the region of Wallonia, a region of 3.6 million people which had led the opposition to signing on to the agreement. Walloon officials had reportedly hesitated to make their agricultural...