1. Background and context of the project
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) provides the framework
for a sustainable and mutually beneficial forward-looking trade and economic
relationship with Canada. CETA was signed by the EU and Canada on 30 October 2016 and
the agreement entered provisionally into force on 21 September 2017, following ratification by
the European Parliament and the Council. (…)
The objectives of the agreement are listed in the CETA introduction pages and in the chapters
where the parties amongst others resolve to:
• further strengthen their close economic relationship;
• create an expanded and secure market for their goods and services through the reduction
or elimination of barriers to trade and investment;
• establish clear, transparent, predictable and mutually-advantageous rules to govern their
trade and investment;
• recognising that the provisions of CETA preserve the right of the Parties to regulate
within their territories and the Parties' flexibility to achieve legitimate policy objectives;
• promote sustainable development and the development of international trade in such a
way as to contribute to sustainable development in its economic, social and
environmental dimensions;
• implement CETA in a manner consistent with the enforcement of their respective labour
and environmental laws and that it enhances their levels of labour and environmental
protection, and building upon their international commitments on labour and
environmental matters.
Overall, the agreement includes extensive elimination of tariffs on trade in goods and reduction
of non-tariff barriers, regulatory cooperation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services and
investment (market access and protection), subsidies, provisions on competition, trade and
You are a group of experts working for Interdependenomics and in charge of designing the
group’s stakeholder consultation strategy for the EU-CETA tender. Read the terms of the
European Commission’s tender and answer the following questions in a clear and wellorganized document (e.g. summary tables).
1. Present your consultation strategy in a few paragraphs (you may also use diagrams).
What categories of actors will you reach out to and how? How do you intend to
engage with them?
2. Present a table of the risks that you need to anticipate in your attempts to consult
stakeholders the mitigating measures that you plan to optimize your consultation
strategy.
3. Draw the timetable of your multi-pronged consultation strategy (see below),
knowing that the final report must be delivered 14 months after the beginning of the
project. (see Annex 1 for template).
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sustainable development, public procurement and protection of intellectual property rights,
regulatory cooperation, dispute settlement and extensive Rules of Origins. (…)
The 21 September 2022 marked the fifth anniversary of the provisional application of CETA.
In the first five years of CETA, bilateral merchandise trade increased by 66% to EUR 77 billion
compared with EUR 46.3 billion in 2016. For services imports are at EUR 13.6 billion and
exports at EUR 17.4 billion in 2021. The EU is Canada’s third largest trading partner (after the
US and China) and its second export market after the US.
The objective of the European Commission is to publish an evidence based ex-post
evaluation of CETA analysing its economic, social and environmental impact after five
years of provisional application.
2. Detailed characteristics of the project
The European Commission calls for a study in support to an ex-post evaluation of the
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and its Member States and
Canada. The outcome of this study will feed into the ex-post evaluation which will take the
form of a Staff Working Document which will be prepared by the Commission after the end of
the project.
More concretely, this evaluation shall examine:
(a) the effectiveness and efficiency of CETA in view of achieving its policy objectives,
(b) the relevance of CETA with respect to the current trade and economic needs and challenges
faced by the EU and Canada,
(c) the economic, social and environmental (especially climate) impacts of CETA including
its effects in/on particular areas/stakeholders: SMEs, consumers, key/sensitive products,
preference utilisation, specific economic sectors and its contribution to the overall objectives
of EU’s trade and investment policy in terms of openness, sustainability and assertiveness, as
mentioned in EU Trade Policy review.
In the years before the CETA entered provisionally into force, various stakeholders voiced
concerns about CETA. The Contractor shall establish a comprehensive list of these concerns
based notably on the debate in the years 2016-2017. In a second step the individual concerns
need to be analysed in terms of the extent to which they have materialised and be presented in
a clear way, be it at economic, social or environmental level. The evaluation shall provide wellsupported assessments based on objective analysis and consequent conclusions and
recommendations. The stakeholder consultations and the assessment of the impact are
complementary and mutually dependent elements of the analysis. (…)
Task 4: Stakeholder consultation strategy
Develop a stakeholder consultation strategy. The Contractor will develop a consultation
strategy, which must include identification of consultation scope and objectives, consultation
methods and tools, identification/mapping of stakeholders in the EU and its MS and Canada
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and stakeholder groups (including national, regional, and sectoral bodies), as well as a timetable
for stakeholder consultations. The strategy should address risks and mitigating measures,
as well as ways of reaching various stakeholder groups (SMEs, CETA Domestic Advisory
Groups, stakeholders from specific sectors, etc.). The consultation strategy must also include
an annex with draft questionnaires and interview guidelines for the identified target groups. For
the identification of stakeholders, the Contractor must consult extensively with the Commission
services and the EU Delegation in Ottawa.
The draft strategy and annex must be submitted to the Commission together with the inception
report and can be modified, if necessary, during the course of the project subject to approval by
the Commission.
The objectives of the stakeholder consultations are: to contribute to the identification of
sectors and groups which have benefited or have been negatively affected as a result of the
implementation of the CETA; to collect evidence to support analysis of the reasons for such
effects; as well as to contribute to the conduct of the case studies.
The consultations are an important element of the evaluation and shall start at an early stage of
the evaluation. The consultation will seek to obtain concrete examples, evidence and
experiences that can complement the quantitative analysis and economic modelling. The aim is
to gather material that will illustrate particular opportunities and challenges resulting from the
implementation of the CETA. The consultations represent a chance to hear from all concerned
stakeholders about areas of the CETA which should be prioritised and where more evidence
and research is needed.
The targeted stakeholder consultations will be an important data collection method for the entire
project, as it will allow the Contractor to establish a clear picture of the situation on the ground.
The stakeholder consultations should contribute to determining areas of the CETA that are
functioning well and those that need more work by the Parties.
The consultations shall cover all aspects of the CETA: the state of implementation of the
Agreement by all Parties, awareness and knowledge about the Agreement, experience with the
use of the Agreement by economic operators (including perceived hindrances and bottlenecks,
length of customs and other CETA-related administrative procedures), effectiveness and impact
of the cooperation, and the impact of the Agreement on economic, social and environmental
aspects in the EU and its MS as well as in Canada.
The Contractor shall ensure adequate and balanced consultation of all interested stakeholders,
including geographical and gender balance in the EU Member States and Canada. He/she shall
take into account the stakeholder contributions when carrying out the evaluation and shall
include them in the quantitative and qualitative analyses.
All consultations carried out by the Contractor must comply with the Commission´s minimum
standards for consultations.
1 The stakeholder consultation strategy must include:
a) At least three civil society dialogues in Brussels on invitation from DG TRADE;
1 European Commission (2001), “Towards a reinforced culture of consultation and dialogue - General principles
and minimum standards for consultation of interested parties by the Commission,” available at: https://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52002DC0704&from=EN
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b) Stakeholder consultations in the EU Member States and Canada, with at least the
following target groups:
a. civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs),
b. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
c. businesses and business organisations
d. trade facilitators such as Enterprise Europe Network, Trade Promotion Organisations,
Business Europe, Commercial Chambers;
c) 12-week online public consultation of particular relevance for stakeholders
within the EU and in Canada, which must cover all the main criteria covered by the evaluation:
effectiveness, impact, efficiency, coherence and relevance. The consultation will be hosted and
administered online via the European Commission's online survey management tool, EU
Survey. A link to the evaluation will be placed on the European Commission's public
consultations webportal. The online consultation is a tool to reach a wide audience and allow
all interested stakeholder to voice comments, particularly stakeholders that may not be
contacted during the more focused consultation activities below. An online consultation is
required under the Commission’s Better Regulation guidance.
Special requirement for SMEs:
The aim of the consultation of SMEs is to collect evidence regarding the relevance and impact
of the CETA on the private sector in EU Member States and Canada, which is largely composed
of SMEs. The aim is to gather material that will illustrate opportunities and challenges resulting
from the CETA for SMEs.
Target sectors for the consultation of SMEs should be sectors with significant export potential
for SMEs under the CETA as well as those identified in the case studies. These need to be
SMEs who import/export directly as well as doing so via bigger companies and/or via freight
forwarders.
The interviews may be conducted 1-on-1, in a group setting, via virtual means or in physical
meetings. For this purpose, the Contractor shall develop a short questionnaire with a mix of
open and closed questions.
Tenderers are invited to indicate in their offer how many companies as a minimum they will
interview per country, how they plan to identify SMEs in the targeted sectors, how they will
select SMEs for participation in the survey and through which channels they plan to reach
SMEs. Interviews and contact in MS need to be offered in the Member State´s language.
Tenderers are invited to indicate in their offer whether they foresee to subcontract or recruit
enumerators for this purpose.

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