Carney Brings Canada Close to EU to Counter US
At a summit of European leaders, the Canadian
prime minister was a special guest offering deals and friendship to jittery allies.
·
Strategic shift: Canada and the European Union
are strengthening ties amid tensions with the U.S. under Donald Trump.
·
Historic participation: Prime
Minister Mark Carney attended the European Political Community summit in
Yerevan—the first non-European leader invited.
·
Reducing U.S. dependence: Canada
is actively pursuing new alliances to counter economic and political
uncertainty stemming from U.S. policies.
·
Trigger factors:
o
U.S. troop withdrawal from Germany
o
25% tariff on EU vehicles
→ Straining transatlantic relations
·
Emerging alignment: Canada
is being treated as a “like-minded” partner, with closer integration in trade, defense, and technology.
·
Defense
cooperation: Canada joined EU defense
industry initiatives and contributed funds to NATO-backed support for Ukraine.
·
Economic collaboration: Ongoing
talks aim for a broader strategic partnership covering trade, energy, critical
minerals, and AI.
·
Domestic pressure: Carney
faces expectations to prove that diversifying partnerships will strengthen
Canada’s economy.
·
Balancing act: Canada still seeks a stable
trade deal with the U.S., despite looming tough negotiations over the USMCA.
·
Countermeasures: Canada announced financial aid
for industries hit by U.S. tariffs on autos, steel, and lumber.
·
China angle: Canada is also engaging China to
expand trade, including easing EV tariffs under quotas.
·
U.S. concern: Washington views Canada’s China
engagement and EU alignment as potentially undermining North American trade
unity.
·
Key takeaway: Growing friction with the U.S.
is pushing Canada and Europe toward deeper economic and strategic
cooperation, signaling a shift in the global
alliance structure.
Canada
and the European Union are turning commiseration and anxiety over their turbulent
relationships with the United States under President Trump into a deepening bond.
On
Monday (04.05.2026), Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada joined a summit of European
leaders in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, putting his country at the heart of
some of Europe’s biggest priorities. He was the first non-European head of government
to be invited to the gathering, known as the European Political Community summit.
Mr.
Carney’s relentless pursuit of new, expanded alliances to lessen Canada’s dependence
on the United States coming as Mr. Trump threatens to unravel decades of economic
integration, has effectively led Canada to be welcomed as something of an honorary
European Union member.
“Integration
is being used as a weapon by some, and the rules are not constraining the hegemons,”
Mr. Carney said on Monday at the Yerevan summit — hinting at, but not mentioning,
the United States — in comments that echoed his landmark speech in Davos,
Switzerland, in January.
In
that speech, he described what he called a rupture in the postwar world order led
by the United States and called on middle powers like Canada and its European partners
to band together to form a new, stable global system within which they can work
together.
“It’s
my strong personal view that the international order will be rebuilt, but it will
be rebuilt out of Europe,” Mr. Carney said in Yerevan on Monday.
European
leaders appeared delighted that Mr. Carney made the long journey from Ottawa to
Yerevan to spend a few hours with them.
“It
is truly a case of, in such an unpredictable world, where friends are getting fewer
and farther between, having Prime Minister Carney around this table not only matters
to us and the citizens we represent, but I think also shows Canadians that we are
willing to go further with a country that we could be very easily, much more integrated
with,” Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, said in an interview
with The New York Times.
The
meeting in Yerevan took place against a backdrop of a string of bad news for Europe
emanating from White House decisions.
Last
week, Mr. Trump announced that he would order the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops
stationed in Germany, and, separately, that he would apply a 25 percent tariff on
E.U. vehicles despite a trade agreement between the United States and the bloc.
The
meeting in Yerevan brought together European Union leaders with other allies, including
Ukraine and Britain, under the auspices of the European Political Community, a group
created in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that meets twice a year.
“It’s
the first ever time that we invite a non-European country to participate in the
European Political Community,” António Costa, the president of the European Council,
said in comments to the news media in Yerevan, “but we invited Canada because Canada
is one of the closest countries in the world to Europe, it is the most like-minded
country, and we share a certain vision of the world.”
“We
need to keep calm and carry on with the United States,” he added. “But our trans-Atlantic
relationship is not only with the United States.”
Mr.
Carney last year negotiated to make Canada part of the European Union’s joint defense industry policy, a partnership that will allow Canadian
companies to bid for E.U. procurement contracts.
Canada
and the European Union are also negotiating a new, broader strategic partnership
that will enhance trade and other areas of collaboration and is likely to be agreed
upon this year.
Ms.
Metsola said Canada would be a desirable source of energy and critical minerals
for the European Union, as well as a partner in the bloc’s efforts to expand its
own artificial intelligence companies.
On
Monday Mr. Carney announced that Canada would contribute 270 million Canadian dollars,
or about $200 million, to a NATO-led program to quickly provide Ukraine with urgently
needed military provisions.
Asked
about whether the U.S. troop withdrawal from Germany worried him, Mr. Carney was
circumspect.
“Obviously
it’s of interest and of some concern, speaking for myself, the potential adjustment
in U.S. troop forces, but the details are less clear at this stage, and it has to
be put against the backdrop of very, very, very considerable American resources,
including personnel,” Mr. Carney said in Yerevan.
But,
he added, the withdrawal should be seen as part of “a world where Canada, Europe,
everybody in that room is taking more responsibility for collective defense.”
Mr.
Carney is under pressure at home to show that his outreach to the European Union
and other partners and his approach to the United States will make Canada economically
stronger and more resilient.
While
Canadians elected him a year ago to stand up to Mr. Trump, there is also broad consensus
among voters that a new, stable trade deal with the United States is necessary to
secure Canada’s economic future.
But
one may not be available any time soon.
A
renegotiation of the United States-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement is looming,
and the early signs point to difficult talks with the Trump administration, which
is demanding concessions from Canada before negotiations can even begin.
Mr.
Carney has said he wants a good deal with the United States but that he won’t rush
into making concessions just to get relief from some tariffs the United States has
applied on key Canadian sectors such as autos, lumber, steel and aluminum.
On
Monday, his government announced a 1.5 billion Canadian dollar aid package for industries
hurt by U.S. tariffs. The financing will come in different forms, including loans
on favorable terms for companies that are struggling because
of the U.S. levies, according to a statement describing the new financial assistance.
Mr.
Carney has also courted China, which he visited in January, to bolster Canada’s
exports. Calling Beijing a “strategic partner,” Mr. Carney secured better trade
terms for some Canadian agricultural exports that had been under crippling Chinese
tariffs. In exchange, Canada removed most tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles
exported to Canada under a quota.
The
Trump administration has decried the electric vehicle agreement as dangerous for
North America, and detrimental to the two nations’ free-trade talks.
Asked
if he was worried that his Europe outreach and alignment with European Union position
would trigger a similar reaction by the White House, Mr. Carney said he did not
feel that bringing Canada closer to Europe was antagonizing the United States.
“We
can do several things at the same time,” Mr. Carney said. “The Americans, for example,
have signed several trade agreements in the last year, and it’s the same for Canada.”