Defined by its Prime Minister Mark Carney as the “most European of the non-European countries“, Canada is taking an unprecedented step towards the European Union in order to find a more reliable partner than the US under President Donald Trump, writes Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
As the trade conflict with Washington grows, on Wednesday Mark Carney will attend the State of the Union speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg, and the next day he will personally address MEPs.
During his trip to Europe, he will also take the opportunity to meet for the first time in Liverpool with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Carney's visits to Strasbourg are a strong message, says Tobias Kremer of The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, which is at the heart of a resolution adopted by the EP in March calling for closer cooperation between Brussels and Ottawa.
“Canada has many resources that Europe is in critical need of - be it energy, rare earths or minerals“, he told AFP.
Affected to the same extent as Canada by Donald Trump's return to power last year, the EU could also diversify its partnerships, as it did by signing a trade agreement with India earlier this year, and reduce risks, the MEP said.
The rapprochement between Brussels and Ottawa has been particularly evident in the past year through the agreement for Canadians to participate in a European defense industry support program.
On a less political but equally symbolic level, Canada was invited to join the song contest “Eurovision“ and is currently looking for a contractor to represent her.
Intensive discussions
Marnie's trip to Strasbourg and the Canada-EU summit scheduled for late October in Montreal will allow for intensive discussions with a view to building a more stable and deeper partnership in the economic and security fields, Carney said in late August.
But does this not even go as far as discussing membership in the European Union - an idea supported in one form or another by 57 percent of Canadians, according to a survey conducted in April.
Asked on Thursday about this issue during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Canada, Mark Carney avoided answering this question.
Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union provides that "any European State" which respects, among other things, the values of human dignity, freedom and democracy, may seek to become a member of the Union.
Defining what constitutes a “European“ country is not necessarily easy, but proving that Canada meets the criteria could prove difficult.
Not “Realistic“
The idea of membership is not “a truly realistic prospect“. In 1987, Morocco was denied membership because it was not a European country, said Ignacio Garcia Bersero, an analyst at the “Bruegel“ research center (Bruegel)
But establishing close ties with the EU does not necessarily have to be through pure and simple accession, he adds, citing Switzerland or Iceland as examples.
Nevertheless, rapprochement with the EU does not seem to be a solution for Canada against its heavy dependence on the American market.
In fact, Canada's exports to the EU represented more than 5 percent of total Canadian exports in July, while exports to the United States amounted to nearly 70 percent.
Ottawa and Brussels already signed a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) in 2016, which eliminates tariffs on 98 percent of traded goods.
Subject to serious criticism, especially from French livestock farmers, this agreement has not yet been ratified by ten of the 27 EU member states, including France. Applied provisionally since 2017, it has not yet fully entered into force, AFP reports.