European Parliament (EP) deputies approved EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) at a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, despite numerous protests of citizens of the EU, EP reported.

It was noted that this was final vote on CETA. The EU and Canada signed the bilateral trade and economic agreement on 30 October 2016. It will also need to be ratified by national and regional parliaments.

Mass protests were held against this agreement in Europe. Even on Wednesday, dozens of protesters gathered in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.

As EUobserver reported, three and a half million EU citizens signed the petition urging EP not to ratify the CETA.

When CETA starts working in full force, it will cancel about 98% of fees which are applied in trade between EU countries and Canada. Brussels expects that implementation of the agreement will increase trade turnover between the parties by 12 billion euros a year.