Transatlantic relations are changing, and with it the EU and Canada are seemingly moving closer. An EU-Canada summit will take place on 23 June 2025, as "an opportunity to enhance the EU-Canada strategic partnership and for leaders to reinforce their cooperation at different levels". Is this a spur of the moment, what is now relevant and what does this mean for the green transition? Anton Möller asked 3 key questions to Achim Hurrelmann, Professor at Carleton University and expert on Canada-Europe relations.
1. What makes the current EU-Canada summit particularly significant?
The EU and Canada are both keen to intensify their bilateral relations. This is primarily a response to the policies of the United States under Donald Trump: his tariffs that have hit both European and Canadian industries, his threats of disengaging from European security, his turn away from multilateralism more broadly. The EU and Canada view each other as like-minded on these issues. They see a potential to grow bilateral economic relations, in trade as well as investment, especially in strategic sectors. They also want to forge closer security relations. Negotiations about a security and defence partnership are far advanced; an agreement will likely be signed at the summit. It would include Canada in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, which supports joint defence procurement. At the summit, the EU and Canada will also signal that they are aligned in their position on many global issues, including support for Ukraine and a call for de-escalation in the Middle East.
2. How have EU-Canada relations developed over time, and what are the main focus areas today?
The EU and Canada have institutionalised relations dating back to the 1970s. By and large, they have had a constructive relationship, despite occasional irritations over questions such as fisheries or the EU’s ban on seal products. But EU-Canada relations have always been overshadowed by both partners’ relations with the United States. It seems that the EU and Canada only really come to appreciate each other as partners when relations with the United States turn sour. The current EU-Canada relationship is based on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), both of which have been provisionally applied since 2017. In recent years, relations have focused on the implementation of CETA, including ongoing ratification processes in EU Member States. Bilateral trade has grown since 2017, but not spectacularly. Discussions about regulatory harmonisation have proceeded very slowly. Under the SPA, the EU and Canada hold regular meetings to coordinate their positions on many international issues. In addition, there have been some joint initiatives in the defence field, mainly with a symbolic character, such as Canadian participation in some EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions, including in two Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects. And there has been a recent focus on research, which resulted in an agreement to include Canada in Horizon Europe.
3. In what ways can EU-Canada cooperation contribute to driving the Green transition forward?
Canada has significant resources and some processing capacities in the critical minerals sector, especially with respect to rare earths, which are essential for clean technologies. As the EU wants to reduce its dependencies on China in this area, closer collaboration with Canada should be a priority. This requires ramping up European investment, from public and private sources, in the Canadian critical minerals sector. There is also some discussion about the production of green hydrogen on Canada’s east coast, which could be exported to Europe. Equally importantly, the EU and Canada must have each other’s back in maintaining a domestic and international commitment to climate change mitigation. We have recently seen a backlash against the green transition in both Europe and Canada. Earlier this year, Canada abolished its consumer carbon tax because the government saw it as an electoral liability. The European Commission and the Canadian government must exercise joint leadership to ensure that the green transition it not further undermined.
The views and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union.
