EU and Canada to announce sweeping new partnership pact
BRUSSELS — The EU and Canada will use a landmark summit next month to announce an expansive new partnership, ranging from breaking down digital trade barriers to joint support for Ukraine and investing in fighting wildfires.
“The world is rapidly changing with unprecedented geopolitical challenges as well as challenges across trade, energy, technology, climate, and resources,” reads a draft joint statement to be issued by the two sides, circulated to EU ambassadors in preparation for the planned summit that begins on Oct. 29, and obtained by POLITICO.
The EU and Canada have been seeking to shore up their strategic ties as they grapple with the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this month proposed inviting Canada to become an associate member of the EU, triggering an immediate threat by Trump to impose tariffs.
“Canada and the EU, with our unparalleled trade access, shared values, and complementary economic strengths, can build a deeper and more integrated relationship,” the draft paper says.
The two sides plan to say at their summit in Montreal that they want to speed up investment in critical mineral projects, strengthen supply chains, and improve supply security, including by stockpiling critical resources to mitigate “market fluctuations and geopolitical impacts.”
“We will align strategies and standards, connect industries, and focus our ambitions on sectors with greatest returns for our peoples. This includes the development of low-carbon, reliable energy that much of the world is hungry for, from liquified natural gas to hydro, solar, wind, and nuclear.”
Ottawa and Brussels will also announce the joint purchase of 50 De Havilland water bombers, to be ready for use in Canada and Europe in 2030 to fight wildfires.
“We are joining forces voluntarily … We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defense industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project. We will work on energy, critical minerals and batteries. On AI, quantum, cyber and economic security,” von der Leyen said in her State of the Union speech on Sept. 15.
