The negotiations for CETA concluded in September 2014 and the text of the agreement is currently under legal review. Once this is finished, it will then be presented to the European Council for signature and then the European Parliament for approval. It is expected to be laid before Parliament this year and MPs will have a number of opportunities to scrutinise the final agreement.
However, underlying this agreement is the opportunity to add £1.3 billion to our economy every year, expand exports to Canada by almost a third and create thousands of new British jobs, with further benefits across the EU and Canada. The agreement will also remove customs duties (saving European exporters €470 million a year), end limitations in access to public contracts, open-up services' market, offer predictable conditions for investors and help prevent illegal copying of EU innovations and traditional products.
I have been assured that the agreement contains all the guarantees to make sure that the economic gains do not come at the expense of democracy, environment or consumers' health and safety, and so I look forward to scrutinising the agreement later this year.