Canada is deepening alliances globally, including with the European Union, Anita Anand told Euronews, as part of a foreign policy focused on middle-power cooperation and reducing the country\u2019s economic and security reliance on the US.<\/p>\n
“Over the last year, we’ve signed over 20 security, defence and economic agreements around the world, and we’re just getting started,” Anand said on Euronews\u2019 interview programme 12 Minutes With during a visit to Brussels.<\/p>\n
She said these relationships are being built for the long term and are not simply a response to US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [Canada\u2019s relations with the EU] will stand the test of time,\u201d Anand said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason is that it\u2019s not just a policy response. The policy response is based on like-mindedness, on shared values, and on the belief that territorial integrity, state sovereignty, and multilateral trade are important values that we will continue to collectively work for in the short and long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her comments come days after Canada made history as the first non-European country to participate in a European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, Armenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very enthusiastic about continuing to work with Europe, with like-minded countries,\u201d Anand said of the gathering.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that already in the SAFE agreement, in the Security and Defence Partnership, in CETA [the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its member states].\u201d<\/p>\n
In a speech to the EPC summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Europe would not submit to an \u201cinsular and brutal world\u201d, and could instead serve as a base from which a new international order could be rebuilt.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, speaking at Davos, he drew attention for referring to a \u201crupture\u201d in the US-led system of global governance, arguing that middle powers needed to chart a new path.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I believe we should be looking at is how we can work together pragmatically for our respective countries to deliver economic benefits and defence and security benefits,\u201d Anand said. \u201cOver the last year, we\u2019ve signed over 20 security, defence and economic agreements around the world, and we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questions have been raised over whether Canada\u2019s closer ties with the EU could eventually go as far as EU membership, amid deteriorating relations with the US.<\/p>\n
Asked whether this is something Ottawa is actively considering, Anand was non-committal, saying: \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is diversifying our trade relationships and really doubling down on this middle-power approach across a series of areas, whether it is security and defence, economic interests, agriculture and agri-food, artificial intelligence\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Decisions on mediation rest with Kyiv\u2019<\/p>\n
Canada is also closely aligned with the EU on its response to Russia\u2019s ongoing war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Anand was in Brussels on Monday 11 May to co-chair a high-level meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.<\/p>\n
She announced that Canada is sanctioning an additional 23 individuals and five entities involved in violations against Ukrainian children, adding to existing measures.<\/p>\n
Asked about the possibility of Canada joining future talks between Brussels and Moscow, Anand said firmly that decisions on Ukraine\u2019s future rest with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that any mediator that is chosen must be one that Ukraine agrees with. In particular, we want to see a ceasefire, which Zelenskyy agreed to, respected. What we\u2019ve seen is Russia violating ceasefires, violating commitments, violating international law, unjustifiably and illegally killing Ukrainian individuals\u2026 That\u2019s unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada is deepening alliances globally, including with the European Union, Anita Anand told Euronews, as part of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3916,13184,17,3501,11688,3848,2041,18255],"class_list":["post-41854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-anita-anand","tag-brussels","tag-canada","tag-euronews","tag-european-political-community","tag-european-union","tag-foreign-policy","tag-policy-response"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}