Brussels – The arrival is almost like that of a star. The overwhelming majority endorses the commitments Ursula von der Leyen made yesterday and shows no fear of Donald Trump’s threats of retaliation. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, enters the plenary Chamber of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and MEPs welcome him with applause, selfies, handshakes and hugs. The co-chair of the Greens, Terry Reintke, is wearing – perhaps going a little over the top in her attempt to win favour – a Canada Hockey jersey. Carney spots her and returns the gesture of courtesy by stopping for a photo. Carney exchanges handshakes with the EPP Group Chair, Manfred Weber, and the ECR Group Co-Chair and Fratelli d’Italia MEP, Nicola Procaccini. After the opening address by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Carney stands to take the podium and take the floor; someone shouts “USA, USA.” He smiles and begins his speech.
The focus of her speech lies in the autonomy that Europe and Canada will build together. “Yesterday, President von der Leyen spoke of going beyond CETA to create an alliance for the future, opening up the possibility for Canada to become the European Union’s first associate member. Canada welcomes this ambition. And I will tell you, polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Canadians support much closer ties with Europe,” he said, to the loud applause from the Chamber. For Carney, “an alliance for the future represents a unique and positive approach that we will define together.” And, he clarifies, “Canada and Europe must ensure their strategic autonomy through deep cooperation encompassing the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, artificial intelligence and computing power, energy security, space and payment systems,” he stressed. “We must aim for seamless digital trade, extending to non-agricultural goods and a wide range of services. We must also strengthen the ties between people, enabling our young people to work, study and live wherever they wish, on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added, to an even louder applause.
The Canadian Prime Minister’s remarks highlight the historic ties between the two sides. A “depth of ties” that “cannot be measured by trade nor is it enshrined in our treaties” because “they are deeply rooted in our lands.” The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also highlighted these ties in her speech introducing Carney. “Many of those who helped build your nation were Europeans seeking a better life. And in our continent’s darkest hours, Canadians stood by our side,” Metsola stressed. “In 1914, when war ravaged our continent, Canadians fought side by side with us” and “in 1944, your young men came to our aid once more, landing on the beaches of Normandy alongside the British and Americans to help liberate Europe from fascism,” she added. “Europe will always be grateful for the sacrifice of so many who stood by us and defended freedom and democracy. We will never forget it,” and “it is with the weight of this history that we now look to the future together. Yesterday’s announcement, which paves the way for a strengthening of our alliance, is a huge step forward,” the President noted.
Carney builds on this common ground and expands on von der Leyen’s announcements yesterday. Today, faced with a world in which “our societies are facing new challenges and a new geopolitical use of trade as a weapon;” where “multilateral institutions are contested and weakened;” where “sovereignty and openness are now difficult to reconcile;” “economic integration is now being used as a weapon and customs duties as a means of exerting pressure;” where “financial mechanisms are used for coercion” and “supply chains represent points of vulnerability,” the Prime Minister highlights to the EU the benefits of an even closer alliance. “Canada’s participation in Erasmus+ would offer your and our students greater opportunities to study at some of the world’s finest universities” and “Canada’s participation in the next generation of the Horizon programme would enable us to pool resources, cooperate on cutting-edge technologies and enhance our world-class research institutes and universities,” he explained. Furthermore, regarding von der Leyen’s announcement yesterday of a new European initiative on critical raw materials, “I would like to point out that Canada possesses deposits of over 34 critical minerals and ranks among the leading producers of the 10 minerals most essential for the energy transition.” Therefore, “our alliance can help meet Europe’s need for reliable supplies and Canada’s aspiration to develop advanced processing capabilities, as well as achieve our shared goal of completing the value chains for the transition and defence.” In addition, “Canada can supply LNG and hydrogen on a large scale to support European energy security, including through the development and use of new port infrastructure in the far north and on the east coast; in turn, Canada can benefit from your leadership in many clean energy technologies” and “we can pool new sovereign computing capabilities and build more secure broadband connections between Europe and Asia, capitalising on our shared geography,” he added.
Carney has a very clear picture in mind. He does not explicitly mention President Donald Trump or the United States because the aim is to look beyond and elsewhere. And the model he proposes, in line with Brussels, is the opposite of the White House’s. “Canada and Europe can join forces to develop security protocols for AI, coordinate common standards and strengthen transparency” and “they should consider creating an integrated financial services market to broaden choice and reduce costs for citizens, while improving access to capital for our businesses and preserving our world-leading financial resilience.” The consequence, according to Carney, is that “deepening and broadening our relationship will strengthen our sovereignty, improve affordability, opportunities and security for citizens, whilst safeguarding our freedom to live as we choose.”
Finally, a few words to try and reassure Washington, which, following von der Leyen’s announcement yesterday, already threatened to use trade as a weapon and impose tariffs. The Canadian Prime Minister then sets out what his plans do not include. “I am not proposing a third bloc that aspires to become a rival superpower, merely one with gentler ways. We are not seeking power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, undermine our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity or erode our freedoms, our democracies and our rule of law,” he explained, stressing that “an alliance between Canada and the EU would serve as a benchmark for other democracies; an alliance defined not by what we oppose, but by what we stand for: freedom, solidarity, prosperity and sustainability.” It would be an alliance that “builds resilience through what we are able to do for our citizens”; “strong enough to prevent anyone from dictating our choices, open enough to welcome new members, and founded on principles whereby our strength reinforces international law rather than seeking to replace it.”
At the end of his speech, Carney returned to history, paying tribute to the Canadians who fought on European soil during the First World War at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 in France. “The thousands of Canadians who did not return from that battle sacrificed their lives for something far greater than themselves. Those who did return home first stopped to gather acorns: today, the very same oak trees from Vimy grow in both Canada and France, a living testament to the fact that what we cultivate together can survive the darkest winter only to flourish once more. Let us therefore deepen those roots,” he concluded, met with a prolonged standing ovation.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
