Brussels / Ottawa, 06/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and Canada are to hold a summit meeting on 8 May in Toledo. The meeting will end with a dinner in Madrid, at the Moncloa. The meeting between the Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, the President of the European Council, José Maria Aznar, and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, will not be long: 45 minutes for an overview of current international political and trade issues. On 9 May, Jean Chrétien, who is accompanied by Foreign Minister William Graham and Minister for International Trade Pierre Pettigrew, will be received by King Juan Carlos.
In Ottawa, senior Canadian officials stated, according to Reuters, that Jean Chrétien may, on the occasion of the summit, speak of the EU's proposal concerning conditions for Canada's participation in EU-led peace-keeping operations, but that the agreement was not yet ripe for signature. The agreement would comprise consultation on security issues between the Union and Canada four times a year, and a Canadian liaison officer would be posted to the EU in Brussels.