The European Union parliament has voted in favour of a landmark trade deal with Canada.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is designed to unite the markets of 35 million Canadians with 500 million Europeans.

Ratification by the European Union parliament, with a 408-254 vote, now paves the way for the agreement to come into force on a provisional basis, meaning over 90 per cent of it could be put into practice within months, while the rest must be ratified by individual EU member countries.