Statement by President von der Leyen following the EU-Canada summit

Dear Mark,

Dear António,

Good afternoon, everyone. Et bonjour puisque nous sommes au Québec.

Et c'est tout naturel de nous retrouver ici à Montréal pour parler de l'avenir de notre relation. Montréal est une ville bâtie sur la rencontre des peuples. C'est une ville qui symbolise ce qui unit le Canada et l'Europe depuis de longs siècles. Without a doubt, Canada is the most European country outside Europe. Because what brings us together goes far beyond geography. We see the world through the same eyes. What matters nowadays is not where a country is on the map. And what it is ready to build with us. It is what it stands for in a world of fierce geopolitical headwinds. These headwinds will not stop blowing. This change is permanent. And now is the time to act with confidence and vision to build a new future. And this is what makes today's Summit so unique and so historic. Today we have not looked backwards. But only forward. Setting out a vision for the future. We both want to bring our relationship to the highest level possible. So, at the Summit one of the main points we discussed was the idea of Canada becoming an Associate Member of the EU: Our idea is simple. It is an ‘association without accession'. Because EU Treaties are clear. A country outside Europe cannot join the EU. But we can replace the term accession with a ‘common ambition and vision'. We can build a partnership that comes closer to membership than anything we have done before. With three clear objectives. More opportunities for our people. More prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. And greater security for us all.

How do we get there? Through three pillars: policies, programmes and governance. First, policies. We want to shape more of our policies together. With much closer alignment - from climate and energy to AI, innovation and security. We want to consult each other at all key stages. So, from inception, to implementation. The 2. pillar is programmes. We want Canada to participate more fully in EU programmes. You are already in SAFE, our defence industry programme. Now we want to expand our cooperation under Horizon Europe, for example. And bring Canada fully into Erasmus+. We want our people to study, work, research and innovate together. Because the strongest bridges across the Atlantic are built through millions of individual stories. And the 3. pillar is governance. We want to bring our institutions much closer together. The fact that 10 Members of the Commission joined me today already speaks volumes about our ambition. And we will organise a full Government-to-College meeting in spring. This cooperation could also entail: Parliament to Parliament, Court to Court. And Business to Business. Yes, the concept of an associate member is uncharted territory. But we have the ambition, trust and creativity to shape it, together. And to be crystal clear. This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength.

Bilaterally, this is the highest form of partnership. But we also look beyond our bilateral relationship, to the world as a whole. Indeed, you said Mark, the new international order will also be built from Europe, with Canada as part of it. And in a world of growing rivalries, sovereignty is no longer the freedom to act alone. It is the capacity to act together.

This is why we are building an Alliance for the Future. And we start with Canada. The EU and Canada are sort of the nucleus. Together, we want to create a common space for growth, prosperity, resilience and economic security. Today, we took very concrete steps towards it. First, we concluded negotiations on our Digital Trade Agreement. Think of it as the digital arm of CETA. Second, we are finalising an agreement between Canada and the European Investment Bank. It is about investments in critical raw materials. Third, we are opening Europe's supercomputing infrastructure to Canada. Giving our researchers and businesses more opportunities to innovate together. We are strengthening our joint ambitions to lead on innovative and trustworthy AI. Fourth, on space. We are deepening cooperation on secure satellite connectivity. We are exploring Canada's participation in our Galileo, IRIS², GOVSATCOM programmes, and more to come. And finally, we are also joining forces in the information space. With a new framework for democratic resilience. To better protect the integrity of our democratic processes.

Dear Mark,

Let me say a word on Ukraine. Canada has always been at the side of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. And we thank you for that. Today we agreed on Canada's participation in our 90 billion euro Ukraine Support Loan. This sends a powerful message to Ukraine: Together we are stepping up our support for Ukraine. Je voudrais terminer par remercier le Premier Ministre et son gouvernement pour leur hospitalité exceptionnelle. Et je veux vous remercier également pour la qualité de notre discussion. Je pense aussi parler au nom de mon ami António quand je dis : merci pour ce sommet si réussi.