At the EU-Canada Summit in Montreal on 17-18 July 2019, Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Cecilia Malmström, European Trade Commissioner, are expected to focus on celebrating a harmonious relationship and their close proximity to global issues, reflected, inter alia, in multilateral forums and summits.
For example, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the EU and Ottawa are working together to modernise this now obsolete institution. The survival of the multilateral organisation's dispute settlement mechanism will also be on the agenda in Montreal, with the identification of a provisional arrangement to overcome the deadlock in discussions on the WTO Appellate Body (see EUROPE 12271/16).
Both sides should welcome, at the meeting and in their joint statement, the progress made in the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed at the last EU-Canada summit in 2016 and provisionally applied since September 2017. This is an opportunity to make a first assessment - according to the EU, European exports to Canada have increased by 15% since then. The parties will endeavour to continue the full implementation of the agreement with a view to ensuring that their economic operators benefit as much as possible from it, a European source explained.
The Union will also address some thorny issues, still unresolved to date: the question of European cheeses on the Canadian market (see EUROPE 11848/9), but also that of spirits and wines (discriminatory sales, pricing and excise duty practices, far-fetched implementation of geographical indications).
Since the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, on 30 April (see EUROPE 12245/3), work has been launched at the European level to establish the Investment Court system (‘ICS’), which will replace the bilateral investment agreements currently in force between Canada and the Member States (see EUROPE 12274/23).
These provisions cannot be implemented until the agreement has been ratified by all Member States' parliamentary assemblies - 13 EU Member States have done so to date (see EUROPE 12289/7 and 12285/6). It should also be recalled that the French National Assembly will vote on the CETA on Wednesday 17 July.
Hand in hand for Climate, Energy and Oceans
As partners in a seamless cooperation on climate change, the EU and Canada will easily confirm their strong commitment to the Paris Agreement and should call on all parties to implement it. They should also commit to continue their efforts to mobilise international climate finance flows (the $100 billion per year promised to developing countries by 2020 and beyond). Canada, along with the EU and China, co-organised and co-chaired the third Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) on June 28 in Brussels, which saw 31 countries and civil society mobilise to strengthen global ambition in the implementation of the Paris Agreement (see EUROPE 12287/7). Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau played a key role in coordinating progress at the Osaka G20, a European source (see EUROPE 12285/9) recalled on Tuesday.
On energy, both sides should underline the importance of research and development (R&D) on clean technologies and reiterate their commitment to common objectives, such as clean energy transition, energy efficiency and security of supply.
Canadian and European leaders will also sign an Oceans Partnership, as China and the EU have already done. "The idea is to cooperate closely on ocean governance, address environmental issues such as marine litter and promote scientific cooperation”, a senior European official said on Tuesday.
Strengthening cooperation in terms of security and foreign policy
The summit will also provide an opportunity to take stock of the new PNR (passenger name record) agreement between the EU and Canada, which has just been concluded. The first PNR agreement, signed in 2014, had to be renegotiated following a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (see EUROPE 11837/2).
Europeans and Canadians should commit to working even more closely on issues related to international peace and security, cyber threats and the fight against terrorism, for example through regular security and defence dialogues.
As usual, both sides will return to foreign policy issues, topics on which their views are often in line. Europeans and Canadians should stress the need to remain closely coordinated in the implementation of sanctions against Russia in relation to the Ukrainian crisis. They could also call for the upcoming elections in Venezuela and reiterate their support for the population and the National Assembly. On Syria, leaders could call for a new cessation of hostilities and the search for a political solution. Finally, the latest developments in the Gulf and regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran are expected to be discussed. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel, Aminata Niang and Camille-Cerise Gessant)