Canada and EU launch 'Alliance for the Future' at Montreal summit
Canada and the European Union have launched an "Alliance for the Future" to integrate their economies, defence industries and technology sectors. The announcement came at the end of the 21st EU-Canada summit in Montreal, in a joint statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Carney said Canada is working toward becoming the European Union's first associate member, a status he placed within the deepest possible partnership short of accession. Accession means joining the EU as a full member. The joint commitment itself describes an "ever-closer association" that falls short of EU membership, according to the Globe and Mail.
On trade and economic rules, the two sides said they had concluded substantial negotiations on three files. One is a digital trade agreement covering the rules for online commerce. Another is an updated pact to police anti-competitive behaviour, meaning practices that limit fair competition between businesses. The third is a deal to make it easier for European investors to put money into Canadian critical resources, particularly critical raw materials, which are minerals used in many manufactured goods.
Canada will also join Europe's supercomputing network. That would give Canadian companies and researchers access to European machines for training artificial intelligence models. Canada will join the EU's Ukraine Support Loan as well. The 90-billion-euro loan covers Ukraine's budget and defence needs for 2026 and 2027.
Several other items are at an earlier stage. Canada and the EU will launch negotiations on Canadian access to Galileo, the EU's satellite navigation system, and Iris2, a planned secure satellite network. The two sides said they will support work to connect Canadian and European instant payment systems, which could make cross-border payments faster and cheaper. Ottawa and Brussels are starting talks on Canadian participation in Erasmus+, the EU's programme for education, training, youth and sport.
On security, the Canada Border Services Agency and Frontex, the EU's border and coast guard agency, agreed a working arrangement to expand operational cooperation on border security. Finally, Canada and the EU will carry out a joint long-term feasibility study on exports of Canadian liquefied natural gas to Europe.
