Canada seeks closer EU partnership as Ottawa downplays 'associate member' label

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Canada seeks closer EU partnership

Highlights

Canada seeks a broader EU strategic partnership, focusing on economic security, AI, critical minerals, and energy, while avoiding the 'associate member' label.
Intensified talks with EU member states are planned before the end-of-October summit as new initiatives require the approval of all 27 capitals.
Canada and the EU are negotiating to resolve trade frictions, including steel tariffs, luxury car tax, carbon border tax, deforestation rules, and pesticide-related food restrictions.

October summit agenda and political hurdles

As reported by the Financial Times, Canada's ambassador-designate to the EU Jonathan Wilkinson says Ottawa is trying to avoid overemphasising the "associate member" label as it works with Brussels on a broader strategic partnership.

Wilkinson says the initiative is meant to strengthen resilience and sovereignty, not to target the U.S., China or any other country. He describes the effort as a way to diversify partnerships in areas including economic security, supercomputing, AI, critical minerals and energy supplies, while maintaining a constructive relationship with the U.S.

He also says the project remains difficult and that much of the work so far has been done with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's team. Talks with EU member states are now set to intensify before the end-of-October summit, because any new initiatives still require backing from the bloc's 27 capitals.

Trade frictions and scope of co-operation

Wilkinson says Canada is willing to pay to join or expand participation in European programmes such as Erasmus and Horizon, while also exploring new forms of co-operation with Brussels.

At the same time, both sides are trying to resolve trade irritants before the summit. The EU wants Canada to reduce steel tariffs, remove a luxury car tax that mainly affects German models and address concerns over Ottawa's "Buy Canadian" procurement policy.

Canada, for its part, wants the EU to ease the effect of its planned carbon border tax and rules barring some goods linked to deforestation. Ottawa also wants discussions on upcoming restrictions affecting food products grown with certain pesticides, with Wilkinson indicating that a broader near-term understanding may still be possible.

Our earlier article on the EU’s provisional safeguards on grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) explained how Brussels plans to use import quotas and higher minimum prices to protect strategic supply chains for wind turbines and power grids. We noted the measures, taking effect from Sept. 25 pending an ongoing investigation, are aimed at countering low-cost imports—particularly from Asia—and would still require support from EU member states to become definitive.

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