German court rejects emergency appeal to block EU-Canada trade deal

[BERLIN] Germany's Constitutional Court gave the green light on Thursday for the government to approve an ambitious trade accord between the EU and Canada under certain conditions, boosting its chances of going through in a vote next week.

The court in Karlsruhe rejected emergency appeals by activists to prevent the government from backing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) before it has been ratified by national parliaments.

In a week's time EU trade ministers are due to vote on Ceta, which requires unanimous support.

Brussels and Ottawa then hope to sign the accord on Oct 27. The European Parliament would also need to vote to allow parts of it to go into force.

REUTERS