Both parties signed a landmark Security and Defence Partnership that will strengthen Canada’s contribution to Europe’s rapidly evolving defence architecture. They also agreed to swiftly launch talks on a new bilateral agreement for Canada to access SAFE, Europe’s joint arms procurement initiative. This would allow the channelling of investments in innovative defence projects.
The EU and Canada discussed the success of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Since its provisional entry into force in 2017, CETA has sustained a 71% surge in trade between the EU and Canada, enriching the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) by €3.2 billion and Canada’s by €1.3 billion annually. CETA illustrates the power of open and fair trade for shared prosperity.
The leaders agreed to step up their cooperation on critical raw materials to strengthen their secure supply chains. They also agreed to initiate a dialogue on industrial policy to explore more business cooperation in key areas like clean technology. On digital, they acknowledge that there is a lot of potential for digital cooperation, so they agreed to work towards a Digital Trade Agreement, to align standards and infrastructure, and to cooperate on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and quantum.
