A conversation with Paul Magnette, Minister-President of Wallonia on the controversy surrounding Wallonia’s stance on CETA, the future of trade deals and democratic accountability in the EU.

Friday, 10 March  AT DPIR – Manor Road

3:00pm – 4:30pm          Session 1:        Taking Stock: What is at stake in regional trade deals?
5:00pm – 6:30pm          Session 2:        A Better Future: How can we reconcile trade and democracy in the EU and beyond”?

Participants include:

Lorand Bartels (Cambridge Law), John Weeks (University of London), Mario Mendez (Queen Mary), Stephen Weatherill (Oxford Law), Garcio Bercero (DG Trade), Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann (EUI), Stefan Griller (Salzburg), Federico Ortino (King’s), Stephen Woolcock (LSE), Tonia Novitz (Bristol), Alexander Kentikelenis (Oxford DPIR), Petya Alexandrova (Oxford DPIR), Simona Piattoni (Trento), Gabriel Gari (Queen Mary), Charles Enoch (St Antony’s College), Vicky Pryce, et al. 

Convenors: Kalypso Nicolaidis and Karl Falkenberg (St Antony’s College)
Coordinator: Stefan Szwed (Research Associate, CIS)

In the fall of 2016, Wallonia’s Minister-President Paul Magnette, of Belgium’s Francophone Socialist party, stepped into global spotlight as “the man who made Canada weep”, “the icon of democracy” or a “trade populist,” as he led an underdog campaign to reform the EU-Canada trade agreement under the threat of Wallonia’s veto.  The saga concluded with an agreement in December 2016, but the controversy is still raging, especially in light of the Donald Trump presidency.  What should be the shape of trade agreements in the XXIst century?  What legal, health and environmental standards should they respect?  Who should adjudicate investor disputes?  And what kind of democratic scrutiny should they come under?  In the wake of the controversy, Paul Magnette drafted the “Namur Declaration” along with 30 academics spelling out the credo behind his action.  In response, another 60 academics issued a counter declaration “Trading Together” defending the role of supranational institutions.  For the first time since the autumn 2016 events, Paul Magnette will discuss what happened and explore with us where we should go from here. We will have representatives from the other side too.  Join us for a heated discussion! 

Register with stefan.szwed@politics.ox.ac.uk

Select reading attached and linked below: 

https://www.socialeurope.eu/2017/02/meps-vote-ceta-trade-unions-demand-new-approach-trade/
https://www.opendemocracy.net/john-weeks/trump-and-myth-of-protectionist-disaster