EU, Canada open Montreal summit to launch new alliance

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Mark Carney opened the 21st EU-Canada summit in Montreal on Oct. 29, with plans to launch an “Alliance for the Future” that stops short of the “associate member” status floated last month.

The summit runs through Oct. 30. European Council President Antonio Costa said a digital trade agreement that complements the Canada-EU trade deal, known as CETA, is due to be approved that day, along with an agreement to integrate Canada into European supercomputing infrastructure, according to Eunews.

Von der Leyen said on arrival that the aim is “to bring Canada closer to us than ever before.” She said the alliance would create “a common space of growth and prosperity, resilience and economic security.”

The agenda covers trade, the digital transition, critical raw materials, defence and security, education, research and innovation, and youth policies, Eunews reported. Canadian officials told CTV News the focus would be business, technology, defence, critical minerals and energy.

On critical minerals, von der Leyen said the value of Canadian critical raw materials imported into the EU has risen 62 per cent, to €3.3 billion, and that a strategic partnership on raw materials has been established. She said “the results are tangible.”

On defence, Costa said Canada has joined the EU’s SAFE instrument, which provides €150 billion in long-term, subsidized loans for joint defence investment. He said he hoped other Canadian companies would take part in coming SAFE tenders.

The “associate member” idea came from von der Leyen’s September State of the Union address, when she said she wanted to work with Carney to pave the way for Canada to become the first EU associate member. Eunews reported the term has been removed from the draft joint declaration, and CTV reported European officials confirmed it is not in the draft statement. Some member states had pushed back on the label, as we reported on Oct. 28.

Von der Leyen described the approach as “partnership without membership.” Costa said the alliance goes “beyond a simple partnership, without, however, going as far as full membership of the European Union,” and called it “the closest, deepest, and most unique partnership of its kind.”

Germany’s ambassador to Canada, Matthias Luttenberg, told CTV’s Power Play on Oct. 27 that Berlin was “a little surprised by the announcement, which doesn’t mean that we cannot agree on it.” Germany uses the term associated membership for Ukraine, which is the source of its concern about the label.

Von der Leyen said deeper alignment is needed on policy, governance and programs. She said the Commission intends to expand Canada’s role in the Erasmus+ student exchange program and in the next generation of the Horizon Europe research program. Canadian officials told CTV Canada would take on a financial commitment only if it joins a program such as Erasmus+, and did not say which programs.

European officials told CTV the details will not be settled this week. They hope to present the new relationship for an official announcement next year, with a finished concept ready for endorsement at the next Canada-EU summit.

Costa also said the EU and Canada will continue “unwavering support to Ukraine” and pressure on Russia through sanctions, in close co-operation. Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is skipping the summit, citing Quebec’s exclusion from the discussions, as we reported.

For Canadian exporters, one open question is the EU carbon border levy, which exposes $2.8 billion of Canadian metals. Bob Rae, Canada’s former ambassador to the EU, told CTV the new partnership is “in addition to the substantial relationship we have with the U.S.” Earlier, we looked at what both sides hoped to sign in Montreal.

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Via Eunews and CTV News (via BNN Bloomberg).