13-10-2016

CETA clears constitutional court hurdle

The Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court has rejected numerous applications for an interim injunction to prevent Germany's approval of the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada.

The Judgement of the Constitutional Court paves the way for Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel to vote in favour of the agreement when it comes to the ballot in the Council of the European Union (probably on 18 October 2016). The Court however requires the Federal Government to ensure,

- that a Council Decision on provisional application will only include areas of CETA which indisputably fall within the competence of the European Union,

- that, until a decision has been passed by the Federal Constitutional Court in the main action, there must be sufficient democratic accountability for the resolutions passed in the mixed CETA Committee and

- that the interpretation of Art. 30.7 (3) (c) CETA allows for Germany's unilateral termination of provisional application.

If these requirements are complied with, there is no risk of any serious detriment, either to the rights of the applicants or to the German Bundestag's participation rights, such as would justify an interim injunction as part of an impact assessment.

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