The next stage in the approval process for the EU-Canada trade pact is now getting underway, officials say, with parliamentary committees in Europe preparing to vote on the accord in the coming weeks. On the other side of the Atlantic, the deal has already been tabled in the Canadian parliament for legislative consideration. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed by EU and Canada leaders in October, following weeks of negotiations to win over the backing of some individual member states and their regional legislative bodies. (See Bridges Weekly, 3 November 2016 ) With the accord now having European Council approval and signature of both EU and Canada leaders, sign-off from parliamentarians will be the final step before the deal can be put provisionally in place. On the EU side, some aspects of the deal will require member state ratification, with full implementation only possible thereafter. Trade officials from both sides say that they aim to see provisional implementation take place in 2017. However, nearly 90 European Parliament lawmakers had recently asked for the bloc’s highest court – the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – to examine whether investor protection terms included in the final version of the...