Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan hopes the EU will sign a trade agreement with Canada as Belgium seeks to resolve internal issues that have stood in the way.
"We're hopefully on the cusp of seeing 98 per cent of our trade liberalised" between the EU and Canada, Mr Flanagan said at the annual Ireland Canada business association summit in Dublin on Thursday.
"You are in one of the more active and constructive EU capitals in this important week," Mr Flanagan told delegates at the event, including former deputy Canadian prime minister Jean Charest.
“We want to see this agreement finalised. We want to see these difficulties resolved. We understand the frustration of Canada.
“I see developments this week as being a delay rather than the end of the road. I remain hopeful that this will happen sooner rather than later.”
Mr Charest said it was disappointing that a deal was not ready to be signed on Thursday in Brussels, despite expectations. But he said: “The relationship between Ireland and Canada . . . this presents us with a unique opportunity as long as we are able to seize that opportunity.”
