Brussels: The European Union (EU) and Canada have solidified their strategic partnership by signing a significant Security and Defence Partnership during the 20th EU-Canada Summit. The summit saw participation from EU Presidents Ursula von der Leyen and Ant³nio Costa, alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. This partnership marks a pivotal step in enhancing Canada’s role within Europe’s evolving defence framework. Additionally, both parties have agreed to initiate dialogue on a new bilateral agreement, paving the way for Canada to partake in SAFE, Europe’s joint arms procurement initiative, thereby channeling investments into innovative defence projects.
According to Cyprus News Agency, discussions at the summit also highlighted the success of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Since its provisional implementation in 2017, CETA has resulted in a 71% increase in trade between the EU and Canada, contributing an annual boost of £3.2 billion to the EU’s GDP and £1.3 billion to Canada’s GDP. This agreement underscores the benefits of open and equitable trade in fostering shared prosperity.
Moreover, the EU and Canada have agreed to collaborate on critical raw materials to fortify secure supply chains. They have also committed to initiating a dialogue on industrial policy to explore further business cooperation in areas such as clean technology. In the digital realm, both parties recognize the potential for collaboration and have agreed to work towards a Digital Trade Agreement. This will involve aligning standards and infrastructure and cooperating in areas like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology. A joint statement and additional details from the summit have been made available online.