CETA Threatens EU Member States' Ability to Protect Public Interest

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) undermines the ability of EU Member States to protect public health and the environment by limiting regulatory discretion and promoting deregulation.

• CETA aims to expand trade between the EU and Canada by reducing regulatory burdens, which the report claims leads to the harmonization of regulations to the lowest common denominator, a reduction in regulator discretion for tailoring permits to environmental conditions, and the removal of precautionary measures that lack sufficient scientific evidence.
• The agreement's 'domestic regulatory disciplines' establish standards for domestic licensing processes designed to limit the authority and discretion regulators can exercise over companies.
• The report identifies specific sectors vulnerable to CETA's impact: it suggests Canada-based companies will have more leverage to challenge denied mining permits in Greece, challenge EU industrial pollution controls (particularly in chemical manufacturing), and pressure Member States to deregulate toxic pesticides by restricting their ability to implement more protective measures than the European Commission.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2018). CETA Threatens EU Member States' Ability to Protect Public Interest. https://www.ciel.org/reports/ceta-threatens-eu-member-states-ability-protect-public-interest-four-case-studies/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. CETA Threatens EU Member States' Ability to Protect Public Interest. 2018. https://www.ciel.org/reports/ceta-threatens-eu-member-states-ability-protect-public-interest-four-case-studies/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=CETA Threatens EU Member States' Ability to Protect Public Interest |date=7 March 2018 |url=https://www.ciel.org/reports/ceta-threatens-eu-member-states-ability-protect-public-interest-four-case-studies/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2018ceta, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{CETA Threatens EU Member States' Ability to Protect Public Interest}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ciel.org/reports/ceta-threatens-eu-member-states-ability-protect-public-interest-four-case-studies/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }