EU signs new partnership with Canada - Agreement aims to strengthen security and trade ties
Canada and the European Union have entered a new era of transatlantic cooperation with the formal signing of a security and defense partnership at a joint summit in Brussels.
The agreement aims for cooperation in the defense sector and is a step towards Canada's participation in the continent's massive new defense procurement program, known as ReArm Europe.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who traveled to Brussels for the summit, is seeking more opportunities for defense procurement as Canada seeks to reduce its trade and security dependence on the United States.
"We will build trading relationships with like-minded partners, reliable partners," Carney said at a press conference after the summit.
"The future of trade includes defense cooperation," Carney added, saying that some NATO allies are pursuing "an allied industrial policy that will make us stronger. This is the future of trade, not a narrow discussion on tariffs," he said.
Regarding trade talks with the US, Carney said he is focused on reaching the "right deal" during the 30-day negotiation window. After the last G7 summit, US President Donald Trump expressed continued support for tariffs, acknowledging that Carney has a "different concept" of trade.
The Canadian leader met with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the summit, before the final agreement was signed. Von der Leyen told Carney she had come "among friends." She said Canada and the EU are two strong democracies that share historic ties and a "dynamic, fair and open" trading partnership.
The head of the European Commission said the EU wants not only to reaffirm its friendship and partnership with Canada, but also to reshape it. She said this is the most comprehensive agreement ever reached.
Under the terms of the agreement, Canada and the EU will hold an “annual security and defence dialogue” involving senior officials. The agreement also commits both partners to expanding cooperation in support of Ukraine, improving Canadian military mobility in Europe and increasing maritime cooperation in regions of “mutual interest” such as the Indo-Pacific.
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