So German!

Admission is free. This event will be bilingual and simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada was signed in October 2016 and on January 24, 2017, the deal moved closer to reality after the European Parliament’s Trade Committee approved it. On February 15, the European Parliament adopted the trade deal, which will lead to the provisional application of the agreement as early as April 2017.

The agreement is seen as a test of the EU and Canada’s ability to forge future trade accords and as a counterweight to anticipated protectionism under the new U.S. administration. CETA is more than a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada: it is about shaping the political, economic, social and cultural values that our countries share and it is also about deepening the transatlantic partnership.

Speakers from the EU and Canada will discuss some of these issues and will touch on the following:

• The political impact of CETA and the future of the EU/Canada partnership
• Engaging with the world through free trade agreements
• Boosting the economies of EU and Canada
• Challenges to CETA moving forward

About the panelists:

Nicolas Chapuis, Ambassador of France to Canada, France

Nicolas Chapuis was educated in France, graduating with degrees in Chinese, Mongol and History. In 1980, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was appointed press attaché to Peking. He was admitted for the selection process to enter the Orient delegation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 1982. His first posting as Consul General was in Peking, followed by Boston, Singapore and Shanghai. He was then sent to London as Consul for Cultural Affairs and Director of the Institut Francais to the United Kingdom, before he became ambassador in Oulan-Bator. He also translated several Chinese works and wrote the essay “Tristes Automnes” in 2001. He was posted as Prefect of the Department Hautes-Alpes, France, from 2009 to 2010 and returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in December 2010 to coordinate the WikiLeaks mission for futureology. Afterwards, he became the director of information systems in July 2011. He was nominated as French ambassador to Canada on Jan. 9^th, 2015.

Dr. István Mikola, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation, Hungary 

Dr. István Mikola has been serving as Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation since 2014. In his capacity as Minister of State he oversees a considerable portfolio, spanning from international humanitarian and development policy, through international organizations to security issues (CFSP, NATO). He is also responsible for EU trade policy, which has been a particularly active focus area during his tenure. Mr. Mikola is a senior professional in numerous fields of expertise and has been actively involved in practice, research, management and policy-making as well. He was a Member of the Hungarian Parliament between 2006 and 2011 chairing the Committee on Health Affairs in 2010-2011. Between 2011 and 2014 he was the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the OECD.

Candace Sider, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Livingston International, Canada

Candace Sider was appointed vice president, regulatory affairs, Canada in 2014 and is responsible for developing and implementing Livingston’s government affairs strategy. Candace will manage political engagement with federal and provincial officials, regulatory agencies and key policymakers. In her role she will continue to help shape the policies and procedures governing trade, and help Livingston develop business solutions that will meet the future needs of our clients. Ms. Sider is a certified customs specialist as well as a registered lobbyist with the Government of Canada. She currently sits on the Border Customs Consultative Committee (BCCC) and on several of its committees. She is also the past chair and a current board member of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers and managing director and treasurer on the board of the International Federation of Customs Brokers Association.

Jakob von Weizsäcker, Member of the European Parliament, Germany

Jakob von Weizsäcker is a Member of the European Parliament for Thuringia, Germany. Born in 1970, he was educated in Germany, the UK and France, graduating with degrees in physics and economics. After graduation, he held a number of research positions and briefly worked for a venture capital fund. In 2001, he joined the Federal Economics Ministry in Berlin. 2002-2005 he worked for the World Bank in Washington DC. 2005-2010, he was a resident fellow at Bruegel in Brussels. 2010-2014 he headed the department for economic policy and tourism at the Thuringian Ministry for Economic Affairs. In 2014, he was elected to the European Parliament for the social democrats. He is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and of the Delegation for the Relations with India.

About the moderator:

Derek DeCloet,Executive editor, The Globe and Mail, Editor Report on Business 

Derek DeCloet is the executive editor of The Globe and Mail and the editor of Report on Business. Previously, he was head of content for the publishing division of Rogers Media. Derek has been a business journalist since the late 1990s, working as a reporter, columnist and editor. He won the 2009 National Magazine Award for business writing.