EU to launch free-trade talks with Canada at Prague summit

SEAL Hunting

MEPs are poised to vote for a ban on seal products next week (5 May), a move that will delight animal-welfare activists, but spark tensions with two big seal-hunting countries, Norway and Canada.
Last week (24 April) negotiators from the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament reached a deal on the draft regulation, when they agreed to ban the sale of seal products on the EU market. In effect, this will put an end to the trade in sealskin boots, bags and coats, as well as some pharmaceutical products such as seal-oil supplements, on the EU market. But native Arctic (Inuit) hunts and small-scale hunts that take place in some Nordic countries will be exempt from the ban.
The European Commission had been concerned that a ban would fall foul of international trade rules. For this reason, the transit of seal products will be allowed to continue. The Commission believes that the compromise is consistent with World Trade Organization rules.