VIENNA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Austria's conservative Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner has backed a free trade deal between the European Union and Canada after Chancellor Christian Kern, a Social Democrat, said Vienna would oppose the agreement in its current form.
Kern has said the deal with Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), shares many of the problems posed by one being negotiated with the United States, known as TTIP.
Kern, who leads the senior party in Austria's ruling coalition, said Austria would open up a "conflict" in the EU over the CETA. The European Commission hopes EU governments can approve the CETA before the end of October. would be impossible to renegotiate (CETA) chapter by chapter," Austrian newspaper Kurier quoted Mitterlehner on Friday as saying. The minister added that a joint government line had to be agreed before an EU meeting on Oct. 18.
"Should we decide against the agreement (CETA), we would probably be outvoted because a qualified majority (of EU states) in favour of CETA is emerging ... In the opinion of many experts CETA is a good agreement ... It would help Canada and the EU."
The European Parliament would also need to vote to allow it to enter force provisionally next year. But national, and some regional, parliaments would still need to ratify it.
There are widespread concerns in Austria that the TTIP being negotiated with the United States could compromise food safety standards. Even Mitterlehner has called for a stop to the TTIP negotiations and a fresh start after U.S. presidential elections in November.
However, a spokesman for Austria's powerful agricultural sector on Thursday dismissed concerns that CETA posed a threat to food safety. The head of the Federation of Austrian Industries has come out in favour of both CETA and TTIP, calling the government's debate "cowardly".
Kern also opposes the idea that trade deals could allow companies to challenge government policies if they feel regulations put them at a disadvantage.
The European Commission has said it remains committed to CETA and reacted to Kern's statements by saying it had not received any clarification on them yet and that the deal was too important to be discussed through the media.
Kern was due to hold a news conference on CETA and TTIP on Friday.