Ottawa and Brussels will announce a comprehensive set of partnerships within the coming year, but the shape of the future relationship is still up for discussion, Canada’s ambassador to the EU said Tuesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced during her State of the Union speech last week that the door would be open to Canada becoming “the first associate member” of the EU. But Ottawa has played down the formal nature of that arrangement.
I’m more fussed about that we have initiatives that are really going to drive prosperity, economic security, and a range of things moving forward,” he said. The EU and Canada are in the process of identifying areas to upgrade their partnership, including critical raw materials, AI, research and innovation. Asked when those deals could be signed, Wilkinson said they would be coming “pretty soon,” with several planned for the joint EU–Canada summit in October.
This is something that we’re looking to do within the next 12 months,” he went on. However, two EU officials, granted anonymity to explain the arrangement, said it was a way to brand a new kind of partnership that goes deeper than existing trade, research and defense agreements.
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