BRUSSELS—The leader of the legislature of a small Belgian region that’s holding up a free trade deal between Canada and the European Union says the deal cannot be met by today’s deadline. Canada and the EU want to sign the deal at an official summit in Brussels on Thursday but the meeting will be cancelled if the region of Wallonia withholds its approval. The deal needs unanimity among the 28 EU nations and Belgium is the only approval lacking since it needs the backing of all its regions. The francophone region of Wallonia, population 3.5 million, has been the lone holdout. Andre Antoine, the head of the Wallonia legislature, said on RTL network that “no, it will not be possible” to back the deal today, arguing there are still too many outstanding issues.

Source: thestar October 24, 2016 11:27 UTC