Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Strasbourg, France.
Prime Minister Carney thanked President Metsola for the invitation to address the European Parliament, noting that the invitation comes at a pivotal moment for Canada and the European Union (EU).
The world has become more dangerous and divided. In this context, the leaders discussed strengthening Canada-EU strategic autonomy through deeper cooperation in the full range of strategic capabilities. This includes critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, AI and compute, energy security, space, as well as financial services and payments.
They also underscored the importance of deepening our people-to-people ties and giving our citizens more choice on where they travel, where they study, and where they trade and work – on either side of the Atlantic.
The leaders discussed President von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address, including her call to move beyond the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to a far stronger, more ambitious alliance in the future. They agreed that this is a unique, positive approach that Canada and the EU will define together, building on our shared strengths and values.
Prime Minister Carney and President Metsola agreed to remain in close contact.