Canada prepares to lift Romanian visa rules to smooth way for EU trade deal

The next move toward ratifying Canada's trade deal with the European Union is set for early next week, when Immigration Minister John McCallum is expected in Brussels to resolve Canada's long-standing visa dispute with Romania and Bulgaria.

With an October signing date now set for the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada must act orrisk a veto by countries whodon't appreciate their nationals being treated as second-class EU citizens.

• 'Listen to voters': Every EU member will have to sign on to Canada's trade deal
• EU Commission delays decision on Canada, US visas to July 12
• EU visa standoff strains allies Canada needs to pass trade deal

In April, Canada and the United States were given an additional three months tocomply with theEU'spolicy of visa reciprocity:countries whose citizens don't need EU visas must, in return, allow visa-free travel for all EU nationals.

Canada currently requires visas for nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria, while the U.S. requires visas for citizens from five EU member states.

The European Commission is set to meet July 13to consider whetherto follow through andimpose reciprocalvisas on Canadians and Americans.

McCallum's office confirmshe'll be in Brussels July 10 to 12 for meetingsto support the adoption of CETA and "reiterate Canada's position in regard to the visa reciprocity mechanism."

However, "noevents or announcements are planned during this trip," spokesmanFlix Corriveau told CBC News.

Veto likely unless visas lifted

It's unclear if the EU will make good on the threat, given the potential economic consequences. Offendingpolitical alliesin North America may not be wise while Europe is already grapplingwith the United Kingdom'snow-anticipated exit.

But even if Canadians won'tneed a visa to visit Paris, the risk to Canada'strade deal is real.

The European Commission's decision Tuesday to propose CETA as a "mixed" agreement jurisdictionally meansthe European Council must actby consensus to approve the trade deal for ratification.

If one or two countries refuse to sign on, they can effectively veto the deal. That would mean Canada's formalsigning in October could be off or at least delayed.

Romania has not been shy about linking its support for CETA with Canada'swillingness to liftthevisa requirement.

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland has expressed confidence the visa issue will be resolved to make sure that doesn't happen.

Sorin Moisa, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Romania, told CBC News Tuesday that if the solution isn't announced next week, it should come "at the latest" in September. "Otherwise we have a major problem."

'Moral imperative' after Mexican decision

Moisa has been speaking regularly with Canada's ambassador, ministers and officials. He said he's been told the recent visit by Canadian officialsto confirmtechnical details went very well and negotiations to lift restrictions have begun.

"They have no major issues whatsoever," he said.

He's a keen supporter of CETA, lobbyinghard for it in the European Parliament until April, whenhe felt forced to resign as his party'srapporteurover Canada's inaction on visas.

"Against the backdrop of [last week's]Mexican visawaiver, this has become absolutely a moral imperative, an absolute precondition for the Romanians tosign CETA," he said.

• Canada drops Mexican visa requirement, Mexico drops beef ban

Romania's case for having its visa rules lifted is even stronger than Mexico's, he believes.

The security risks aren'tcomparable. Plus, as EU citizens,Romanians can already move freely across the continent, so why fear awave of economic migrants or asylum seekersto Canada?

The CETA veto threat isn'tjust "big words," Moisasaid."There's no way the Romanians could accept being treated assecondary EU nationals."

Romania's prime minister, Dacian Ciolos, was in Ottawa on June 15 and discussed the visa issue withPrime Minister Justin Trudeaufor a half-hour.

The pair had good chemistry, CBC News was told, with Trudeau acceptingthe "obvious political reality" of the linkage between the visa and trade issues.

In a statement, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel criticized theLiberal government for treating visa-free entryas a "bargaining chip in a deal."

"Now that the Liberals said they would lift the visa requirement for Mexico, based exclusively on a political decision, other countries that don't meet the criteria are lining up for the same special treatment," she said, advocating instead for an objective, evidence-based system based on security and immigration indicators.

In a briefing offered to journalists Wednesday, a senior government officialsaid that there is a "process of engagement" underway"in good faith" to determine whether or not to lift the visas, but "those decisions are made on the basis of our policy... they're not going to be made on the basis of whether or not there's going to be support for a trade agreement."

Canada committed to working towards visa-free travelin itsstrategic partnership agreementwith the EU. However,"our visa policy needs to be kept separate from our efforts to gain support for a trade agreement," he said.

'Mother of all fights'

Beyond preventing a veto, lifting visa rules could help ratify CETA another way.

Until he resigned,Moisa was the CETArapporteur for the Socialist MEPs in Brussels, a sometimes trade-skeptical blocperceived as crucial swing voters in the upcoming European Parliament ratification.

The MEP who replaced him as advocatewas British. Hisinfluence on other MEPsmay belimited afterthe Brexit vote.

If Moisafeels unable to resume his role, there's a risk that the next Socialist CETArapporteurmight oppose the deal.

"This will be the mother of all fights," Moisa said.

"Especially post-Brexit, you have a bit of continentalization of European politics," he said. "The pro-trade, pro-Atlanticist camp in Europe is significantly weaker without the U.K."

The European Commission made the right call Tuesday in opting for a mixed agreement, he said.

"If Brexit tells us anything, it's that there shouldn't beany perceived power-grabbing so the Commission was wise, unexpectedly wise, to say this is amoment when we do not want to appear to be taking anything away from member states," he said.

NowMEPscanvote knowing individual countriesalso get their say.

If the EU claimedjurisdiction,"it would have been seen by some of my colleagues as defying the people," he said.