Macron said he saw the planned meeting with Mark Carney as "a very strong gesture of friendship" and pointed to the Canadian leader's blossoming relationship with Brussels.
Euronews20 Sept
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are set to hold talks on Sunday aimed at strengthening economic and defence cooperation between France and Canada during a meeting in the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The discussions come days after Carney expressed support for the prospect of Canada becoming the European Union's first associate member, arguing that closer ties with Europe would help protect Canada's economic interests and sovereignty. Relations between Canada and Europe have gained greater prominence as Ottawa seeks to diversify its partnerships and reduce dependence on the United States amid trade tensions and tariff disputes. Speaking upon his arrival in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on Saturday, Macron described the meeting as "an important moment" and said the talks would help strengthen bilateral economic and defence relations between the two countries. The French president also linked the discussions to broader efforts to enhance France's energy security as the conflict involving Iran continues to disrupt global energy markets. File picture of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. AP Macron noted that Canada possesses significant reserves of critical minerals and rare earth elements and is a major producer of oil and natural gas. He said France is seeking agreements that would secure additional liquefied natural gas supplies for Europe's Atlantic coast. According to Carney's office, the leaders will discuss expanding cooperation in key sectors including aerospace, energy, critical minerals and advanced technologies such as quantum computing, satellites and supercomputing. The meeting also follows a recent agreement announced by US President Donald Trump regarding Greenland, which will expand the US military presence on the island while maintaining Danish sovereignty. Macron welcomed the agreement, saying that Danish sovereignty and international law were being respected and that any development helping to ease tensions was positive.
This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The prime minister has been asked if Australia has any plans to join the EU, after the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney , welcomed the offer of Canada becoming the EU’s first associate member. Anthony Albanese says “we’re a long way from Europe, of course”, but after it is pointed out that Canada is too, he says: Our relations, of course, are also in areas that Canada doesn’t have. So Asean, for example, and the centrality of Asean in our region is important. The Pacific Island Forum, where I was just a couple of weeks ago, is very important as well. Our priority when it comes to Europe and our engagement with the EU is, of course, Australia-EU free trade agreement. It was never going to be perfect, but in the legislation that we passed just in the last sitting fortnight, I can tell you … that already the eSafety Commissioner has used that strengthening of the laws to require some of the social media organisations to provide information to it, so they’ve already been compelled. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Penry Buckley20 Sept
The tension between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has only intensified amid the latter’s cozying up with the European Union (EU) on a high-profile trip this week. The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has been increasingly strained due to tit-for-tat tariffs on American and Canadian goods and Trump’s renaming of Lake…
The Hill•Helen Huiskes19 Sept
As Prime Minister Mark Carney presses toward creating a "unique alliance" with the European Union, Canada's ambassador is ruling out paying directly into the 27-nation bloc's budget.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has returned from Europe and cast Canada as moving quickly beyond its historic reliance on the United States
Canadians in Vancouver reacted to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposal for closer ties with the European Union, including possible “associate member” status.
Euronews18 Sept
It will be the first time the PM uses No 10 North to host an overseas visit while the chancellor will be in Dublin meeting with EU finance ministers Good morning. On Monday, at her summit in Cardiff with the leaders of the SNP and Plaid Cymru, Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin president, joked about Liverpool being the 33rd county of Ireland . Andy Burnham is basically a Scouser; he was born in Liverpool and supports a Liverpool football team, despite being brought up in Culcheth, a village mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, which made him enough of a Manc to be the city’s mayor. He also has Irish ancestry, and so the mood should be very cordial today when he hosts Micheál Martin , the taoiseach (Irish PM) at No 10 North in Manchester this morning. It is the first time that Burnham has used No 10 North to host an overseas visit, which should help a bit his efforts to establish that No 10 North is a proper government power base, and not just a branch office. The historic visit to No 10 North comes as the prime minister shines a spotlight on towns up and down the country, days after he hosted Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in Liverpool and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Oxford. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Andrew Sparrow18 Sept
As Prime Minister Mark Carney approached the podium at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he was met by a lone heckler with an unexpected chant for a Canadian leader speaking to the EU in France.
"There was thunderous applause for Mark Carney, a standing ovation, the centrist MEPs all loved him, the far-left MEPs also really liked it. But guess who didn't like this speech today? The far-right. Far-Right MEPs were grumbling about Mark Carney's presence and even when he started his speech one, a far-right MEP started chanting U-S-A! U-S-A!" FRANCE 24's Dave Keating reports on Mark Carney's speech at the EU Parliament.
Mark Carney’s response to the challenges posed by an unreliable US president contains a clarity of vision that is lacking in post-Brexit Britain There is no “associate membership” of the European Union, nor any blueprint for what such a thing might involve. It is a political hypothesis, describing a relationship of intimate strategic alignment with the EU, stopping short of actual membership, in ways that are significant but undefined. This week, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, invited Canada to be the first country to enjoy this putative status. In her state of the union speech, she spoke of a future relationship elevated “to the highest level possible”, reflecting an affinity of interests and values. Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, reciprocated the sentiment in a speech on Wednesday. Addressing the European parliament, he said the two sides should secure “strategic autonomy through deep cooperation” across a broad spectrum of interests: trade, defence, industrial capacity, science, space and AI. He proposed Canadian participation in the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme and Horizon research scheme. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
The Guardian•Editorial17 Sept
Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has welcomed the EU’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first ‘associate member’, despite threats from Donald Trump over the plan. The US president said Washington could impose ‘very serious tariffs’ or halt trade if the EU went ahead with the plan. But in a defiant speech to the European parliament, Carney called for ‘deep cooperation’ and said polling showed the overwhelming majority of Canadians supported closer ties with Europe. Lucy Hough speaks to Europe correspondent Jon Henley Continue reading...
The Guardian•Presented by Lucy Hough with Jon Henley ; produced by Angus Neale ; senior producer Ryan Ramgobin ; executive producer Zoe Hitch17 Sept
Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has welcomed the EU’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first ‘associate member’, despite threats from Donald Trump over the plan. The US president said Washington could impose ‘very serious tariffs’ or halt trade if the EU went ahead with the plan. But in a defiant speech to the European parliament, Carney called for ‘deep cooperation’ and said polling showed the overwhelming majority of Canadians supported closer ties with Europe. Lucy Hough speaks to Europe correspondent Jon Henley – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
The Guardian•Presented by Lucy Hough with Jon Henley; producer Angus Neale; senior producer Ryan Ramgobin; executive producer Zoe Hitch17 Sept
Although Mark Carney welcomed offer to become bloc’s first associate member, no one seems to know what that means Europe live – latest updates Mark Carney received a rapturous reception in the European parliament when he gave his speech on Thursday welcoming a proposal for Canada to become the EU’s first-ever associate member. Politicians queued to shake his hand and take selfies. One described the speech as a historic moment. “Europe has extended a hand, and Canada has taken it,” said the German Green MEP Terry Reintke, who borrowed a Canadian ice hockey shirt for the occasion. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Jennifer Rankin in Brussels17 Sept
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a historic deepening of ties between Canada and the European Union, arguing that a changing geopolitical order is pushing the two sides towards a closer strategic alliance.
Euronews17 Sept
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney used his address to the European Parliament to signal that Ottawa wants to deepen its partnership with the EU beyond trade, expanding cooperation on energy, AI, space and payment sovereignty, while also seeking to join the Erasmus programme. FRANCE 24's Dave Keating explains how the push reflects Canada's broader strategy to build stronger alliances beyond the United States without seeking to join the EU's single market, even as questions remain over how those ambitions can be turned into concrete action.
EUobserver understands that Ursula von der Leyen did not consult EU governments before making the offer to Canada and there is anxiety in some EU capitals that cosying up to Mark Carney could inflame Donald Trump into re-starting his tariff war with Europe.
Both Mark Carney and British PM Andy Burnham support Everton, a middling Premier League soccer team from the city of Liverpool.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed Canada’s invitation to join the European Union as its first associate member. “A Canada-EU alliance would create a beacon for other democracies,” Carney said during his speech before the European Parliament. “An alliance not defined by what we oppose but about what we are for: freedom, solidarity,…
The Hill•Sarah Davis17 Sept
In address to European parliament, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney listed areas where he wants to boost cooperation.
Al Jazeera17 Sept