The EU and Canada are set to forge an ever-closer partnership
The new partnership aims to create a common economic and security area. Ties will be strengthened, but without granting Ottawa associate member status, as proposed by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
from our correspondent Beda Romano
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BRUSSELS – The European Union and the Canadian government are set to officially announce a new form of partnership between today and tomorrow, characterised by unprecedented ambition. In addition to new cooperation agreements in the political, scientific, economic, energy, industrial, environmental and even military spheres, the agreement is expected to serve to create a new global hub in a context where the international order established in 1945 and renewed in 1989 is changing rapidly.
“The European Union and Canada have long been close friends, key partners and strategic allies,” explained the President of the European Council António Costa in a statement. “Our bond is strong and is growing ever stronger. In Montreal, we will take our partnership to the next level by launching our ‘Alliance for the Future’ to further strengthen our political, economic and institutional ties.” The bilateral summit will take place today and tomorrow in Montreal.
Exchange volume up 80% in 10 years
For some time now, Ottawa and Brussels have been close partners. In 2016, they signed a free trade agreement, known by the English acronym CETA, which is currently being applied on a provisional basis pending the completion of the ratification process by the EU-27. Over the past 10 years, trade has grown by 80 per cent. Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his ambitions regarding Canada and Greenland, as well as his threatened withdrawal from NATO, have led to a further rapprochement between the two partners.
An EU official spoke this week of ‘unprecedented momentum in bilateral relations’. He emphasised that the aim is to create ‘a common economic and security area’. The new collaboration is expected to take place on three levels: policy, programmes and institutions. The joint declaration will form the basis for more concrete work to be carried out over the coming months in the run-up to a bilateral summit in 2027.
In a speech in Strasbourg in September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed that Canada become ‘associate member’ of the Union. The proposal raised quite a few eyebrows amongst the 27 Member States, not least because the concept is not provided for in the Treaties and lacks a legal basis. The joint declaration negotiated at diplomatic level prefers to focus on an ‘ever closer association’.
