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Canada and the European Union are working toward a wide-ranging relationship that will cover issues from trade to security to raw material exports. The alliance is meant to offset the increasing influence of the United States and China, Bloomberg reports .
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s top executive, is set to announce plans for the increased partnership in Strasbourg, France on Sept. 16. Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend von der Leyen’s address, then will speak to European lawmakers the next day.
Canada looking for new friends
Carney has made a deeper relationship with the EU a top priority for his government, and is looking for everything short of a membership into the EU itself, an anonymous source told Bloomberg. Current talks, they say, are focused on defence, space exploration and scientific research, and Carney will consult provincial premiers as he goes along, the source said.
The move is in line with Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum this year , seen by many experts as a rebuke of the United States. In that speech, Carney said the “rules-based international order” is dead, and called on an alliance of “middle powers” to offset the growing belligerence of the world’s superpowers, while taking care not to specifically mention the United States or China.
Trump doesn’t like the EU either
While U.S. President Donald Trump has targeted Canada with stiff tariffs and strident social media rhetoric , it’s certainly not the first to come into his crosshairs. Trump has long targeted Europe , sharply criticizing its trade policies, lack of financial participation in NATO, open borders immigration policies and a continued interest in annexing Greenland into the United States.
Canada and the EU already have a partnership on security and defence and a trade agreement in place. Carney is reportedly seeking Canadian access to Europe’s single market without full membership. A summit between Canada and the EU addressing those issues is scheduled for October.