German court rejects appeal to stop EU-Canada deal

Germany’s Constitutional Court rejected Thursday emergency appeals that aimed at stopping the European Union’s trade deal with Canada.

The court was hearing the biggest class-action citizen’s challenge ever brought to it, with around 200,000 plaintiffs pleading for a last-minute injunction to stop the trade deal, known as CETA, before it begins to take effect.

The court also heard a constitutional challenge from Germany’s radical left Die Linke, an opposition party in parliament.

The appeals were trying to force the German government to change course and vote against the deal in Brussels next week, the beginning of a ratification process that will include all EU member state parliaments and could last years. Parts of the deal will begin to take effect before the approval process is complete.

Source: MarketWatch