Romanians will be able to travel to Canada without a visa after the European Parliament approved today the EU – Canada free trade agreement CETA. Canada agreed to lift visas for Romanians at the end of last year but the enforcement of the measure was dependent on the signing of the CETA.

EU national parliaments must approve CETA before it can take full effect but some provisions of the agreement will go into force before this, Digi24 reports. As such, Romanians who have traveled to Canada before will be able to return visa-free beginning this May. Starting December 2017, all Romanians can travel to the North American country without a visa. However, Canada also said that the visas could be reintroduced if the number of Romanians going to Canada is too high.

The visa lift is particularly important for the relatively large community of Romanians living in Canada and their Romanian relatives. An estimated 192,000 Canadians of Romanian origin lived in the Montreal and Toronto areas in 2013, according to data from the Embassy of Canada to Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova.

The CETA agreement eliminates 99% of the duties on commercial exchanges between the EU and Canada. According to a European Commission presentation, Canada will remove customs duties on EU exports worth EUR 400 million every year, rising to EUR 500 million a year at the end of phase-in periods.

In 2016, the EU exported EUR 37 billion in goods and services to Canada and imported EUR 30 billion from the country, according to Statistics Canada, quoted by Deutsche Welle. One EU-Canada forecast argues the deal would increase bilateral trade in goods and services by more than 20%, according to the same source.

Romania exported goods worth EUR 75 million to Canada and imported goods worth EUR 60 million, in 2015, according to Eurostat data.

However, the agreement was also criticized by those who oppose globalization and who say that it will put more pressure on the small industries and enterprises in Europe, especially those in the traditional and ecological products sector. The CETA opponents are also against the privileges granted to Canada-based investors who will be able to sue European states if their investment projects are cancelled or delayed.

Former Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos made an official visit to Canada last year, the first Romanian-Canadian bilateral meeting at Prime Minister level in the last ten years.

Romania and Bulgaria were at the time of the visit the only EU member states for which Canada maintained the visa requirements. Romania lifted the short-stay visa requirements for Canadian citizens in 2012, complying with EU regulations in the field.

editor@romania-insider.com