Fishing in Canada

The Bulgarian cabinet has adopted a decision approving the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

It has also given the green light to the EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement.

As Monday's deadline loomed for a Belgian region to decide on whether or not to support the vexed EU-Canada trade deal, Bulgaria and Romania say they believe it will not affect their chances of achieving visa-free travel to Canada.

After Belgium's Wallonia region, the capital region of Brussels has also refused to ratify the free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU (CETA).

At present, two out of the three regions in the country have declared that they do not support CETA.

The European Union has set a deadline until Monday evening for Belgium to overcome the resistance of the French-speaking region of Wallonia against the free-trade agreement between the 28 member-states of the EU and Canada (CETA).

For once, Greece could not be blamed for scuppering a major agreement in Brussels. Nevertheless, there is much for Greeks to ponder following the collapse last Friday of the European Union's efforts to clinch the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.

Bulgarians will be able to travel to Canada visa-free as of December 1, 2017.

The agreement was reached during emergency negotiations at a meeting of the European Council, which continued until early in the morning in Brussels on Friday.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has told Canada's new Ambassador to Bulgaria Kevin Hamilton that Sofia needs guarantees from the Canadian government that visa liberalization will happen in 2017.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has expressed hope that the EU should "unite" around the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

On Twitter, Plevneliev has said the deal is a chance "to show that Europe is able to take sagacious solutions in the interest of the unity of the Euro-Atlantic community."

A draft resolution that would determine Bulgaria's stance on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has made it to Parliament's floor.

Removing visa requirements and the continuation of the political dialogue for Romanian citizens to receive, in the shortest time possible, equal treatment in terms of visas with the citizens of the other EU states were among the subjects on the agenda of the talks between Minister-delegate for Relations with Romanians Everywhere Angel Tilvar and Canadian officials, during the Romanian official'