BRUSSELS, 11:15 a.m. (5:15 a.m. ET) -- Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew and I are at the Brussels airport now boarding for the 25 minute flight to Amsterdam and then on to Toronto and Montreal-Ottawa respectively.

We are both feeling very positive about our intervention against the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement negotiations this week.

STRASBOURG, 1 p.m. (7 a.m. ET) -- We are attending a debate at the European Parliament this afternoon. Not often seen in North American media (and actually we're not supposed to take pictures), it's notable how raucous the debate can actually be here -- clapping, heckling, and even booing. And given how empty our House of Commons is usually, it's startling to see every seat full in this 736 member assembly.

STRASBOURG, 10:45 a.m. (4:45 a.m. ET) -- We are here at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France today to raise concerns about the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with as many representatives within the 736-seat body as possible. So far, we have meetings lined up with the Greens/ European Free Alliance (that have 55 seats) and European United Left/ Nordic Green Left (with 35 seats). We are seeking a meeting with the European Peoples Party, the largest party in the European Parliament with 265 seats.

In terms of water, the main points we want to raise with MEPs include:

BRUSSELS, 1 pm (7 a.m. ET) -- This morning we are on a 5-hour train trip from Brussels, Belgium to Strasbourg, France where the European Parliament is sitting in full session now.

Our intent is to set up as many meetings as possible with Members of the European Parliament to share with them our critique of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

It is also to get the Council of Canadians-CUPE report on CETA and water privatization and the Council of Canadians-Indigenous Environmental Network-Friends of the Earth Europe sponsored legal opinion on CETA and the tar sands to them.

This morning the Council of Canadians joined with Canadian allies -- the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the National Farmers Union, the Indigenous Environmental Network, ATTAC-Quebec, Alternatives -- and European allies -- Friends of the Earth Europe, the UK Tar Sands Network, La Via Campesina Europe -- in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels to denounce the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the tar sands.

My message this morning:

This afternoon we met with Reuters business reporter Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck primarily on the investor-state provision being negotiated now to be part of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

This provision would be the first for a European Union free-trade agreement and is less understood here than in Canada given our direct experience with Chapter 11 in NAFTA.

We provided the Reuters reporter with a copy of Steven Shrybman's legal opinion on CETA and the tar sands which can be read at http://www.canadians.org/trade/documents/CETA/legal-opinion-CETA-tarsand.... We are hopeful that this will form the basis of her article.