<aside> 🇺🇸 Canada - US Trade
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<aside> 🌎 Canada - US Country Relations
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<aside> 🇪🇺 Canada - EU Trade
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<aside> 🌎 Canada - EU Country Relations
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The European Union and Canada have maintained consistently good relations and have been involved in official bilateral trade agreements since the mid-1900s. In fact, this is the oldest formal relationship the EU has with any industrialized country which dates back to 1959. The relationship between the two has been primarily based on shared values, a long-lasting history of close cooperation, and strong people-to-people ties.
Furthermore, both the EU and Canada continue to grow their strong bilateral relationship across the broad spectrum of political foreign, and security policies. Since they both share a common history, they are capable of working together bilaterally and multilaterally to promote democracy, peace and security, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and effective multilateral institutions.
The EU and Canada have displayed a favorable multilateral approach to solve international issues. For instance, as the EU has developed an increasing foreign policy role, Canada's cooperation has also increased. Peace and security have become the relationship's key components for conflict prevention and increased international cooperation for a more effective crisis management solution. For example:
As EU-Canada relations continued to strengthen, both partners were taking the economic relationship largely for granted, despite their political bonds being tight. As barriers to trade and investment continued to interfere with the economic cooperation between the two, Canadian and European businesses issued a declaration in support of an EU-Canada Trade and Investment Agreement. This pressured both partners to establish an advanced type of bilateral trade and investment agreement, including free trade. Thus, in 2009, Prime Minister Harper and EU Council President agreed to negotiate an economic partnership. As a result, The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was launched.
Along with the implementation of CETA, a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) was also signed. The SPA has strengthened the Canada-EU partnership across the policy spectrum, and institutionalized mechanisms through which Canada formally engages the EU on significant non-economic issues. Therefore, the agreement insists that the EU and Canada have the means necessary to heighten their relations apart from economic and trade relations.
The success that the EU and Canada depend on for their economic growth is built on transparent and reliable international rules that implement a free trade regime. However, the EU must fulfill its portion of the deal as it has only moderately enforced the CETA. The EU must make increased efforts to confirm the agreement to be ratified in each member state. Overall, the mutual interest between the two partners makes them ideal partners for cooperation on reforms of global trade rules.
The EU and Canada maintain a strong history of cooperation on environmental policies. Over the past decades, Canada has altered its approach in international climate negotiations multiple times. During the 2019 election campaign, Prime Minister Trudeau announced a goal for net-zero emissions by 2050 and set legally binding, five-year emissions reduction milestones which have failed to appear. However, the gap between the target goal and the reality of the climate policy is not only a concern in Canada but also in the European countries. Although both partners are faced with similar challenges for future climate policy goals, it gives them the opportunity to further strengthen cooperation and give rise to mutual interests of climate policy.
Canada is known for its long-lasting experience in immigration, citizenship, multiculturalism, and asylum. Such migratory movements across the globe have the potential to pose various challenges and opportunities for both the EU and Canada. The mutual interests and benefits that the EU and Canada gain from a range of areas are: