‘Europe, Canada are stronger together’: Carney after Trump calls EU ‘associate member’ proposal ‘laughable’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday backed closer ties between Canada and the European Union, saying the two sides could work together to protect their markets, democracies and sovereignty, hours after US President Donald Trump called the proposal “laughable” and threatened to impose tariffs on Europe.Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Carney welcomed the EU’s ambition to make Canada its first “associate member”, although he did not himself use the term.“Europe and Canada are each strong. Europe and Canada are even stronger together,” Carney was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.Carney did not name Trump in his speech but appeared to refer to US trade measures, saying economic integration was being “weaponized” through tariffs and that supply chains and financial mechanisms could be used for coercion.
Trump threatens tariffs on Europe
Trump on Wednesday criticised the proposal to deepen EU-Canada ties, calling the idea of Canada becoming an associate member of the bloc “laughable”. He also threatened to impose “very heavy tariffs” on Europe or stop trading with the bloc on some goods if he considered the move a “hostile act”.“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina.The remarks came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Wednesday that the EU should open the door for Canada to become its first associate member.The proposed status does not currently exist under EU treaties and would need to be created and approved by the bloc’s member states.The European Commission said the proposal was not directed against the United States. “The proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said.
Carney: No one can dictate Canada’s choices
Carney said the final structure of any future relationship with the EU would be decided through discussions and would ultimately require a vote in the Canadian Parliament.“Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak. No one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” Carney told reporters after his speech.He said Canada was looking at closer cooperation with Europe in areas including critical minerals, defence, artificial intelligence and computing, energy security, space and payments.Carney also stressed that Canada and Europe were not seeking to create a rival power bloc. “I’m not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival, only with better manners,” he said.The EU and Canada already have a free trade agreement, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which provisionally came into force in 2017 and eliminated 99 per cent of tariff lines.The proposed closer partnership comes as Canada and the US remain locked in a trade dispute, with Washington having increased tariffs on Canadian goods and Ottawa responding with tariffs of its own.French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said on Thursday that the US could not veto the EU’s geopolitical decisions. “It is not up to the United States — or anyone else — to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” he said.
