Carney eyes ‘unique alliance’ with EU as trade war with US intensifies
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Carney eyes ‘unique alliance’ with EU as trade war with US intensifies
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was not seeking membership of the EU, but rather a "unique alliance"
By Harry Sekulich
Published 22 minutes ago
Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that Canada is pursuing a "unique alliance" with the European Union (EU), rather than full membership, as its trade dispute with the US escalates.
"What we are looking – and will begin discussions for – [is] a unique alliance with the European Union," Carney told reporters in Toronto on Sunday.
This week, Carney will travel to the UK and France, where he is scheduled to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
His comments follow a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that EU officials are open to Carney’s proposal that Canada become an "associate member" of the bloc.
Carney instructed his special envoy to Europe to "scope out the most ambitious possibilities short of full membership," according to the paper.
While in Europe, Carney will attend European Commission Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address. He will also meet with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Liverpool.
Since taking office, Carney has advocated for a strategy aimed at establishing a "more independent, more resilient economy," in response to increasingly hostile policies from the Trump administration.
*Trump has previously discussed making Canada a "51st state" of the US and recently ordered the US government to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America."
In January, Carney called for middle powers to unite at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating that "the old order is not coming back."
