Tolede, 08/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - Both the European side and the Canadian side qualified as "fruitful" the work of the EU/Canada Summit in Tolede on Wednesday, and especially regarding anti-terrorist co-operation, trade and external pacification missions. The President of the European Council, Jose Maria Aznar stressed the similarity of views between the two sides regarding both "decisions" and "values" in combating terrorism. Like Aznar and European Commission President Romano Prodi, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, moreover, referred to his readiness to collaborate in peace missions, including those scheduled for Macedonia. According to Mr. Aznar, the Summit also debated a "stable framework for co-operation" in the context of CFSP. "We were the first to enter former Yugoslavia and shall go there whenever necessary, as the problem has not yet been resolved", said Jean Chretien. As for trade, Romano Prodi placed emphasis on the commitment of the parties to promoting the process begun at the WTO in Doha so that "negotiations may be successfully completed" by end-2004.
Combating terrorism and co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs. The EU and Canada came down in favour of further enhancing legal co-operation to tackle acts of terrorism and organised crime, and decided to examine the possibilities of reaching an agreement relating to co-operation between Canada and Eurojust. They also decided to examine, "when the time is right", the possibility of concluding mutual co-operation agreements regarding mutual legal aid and extradition. Regarding police co-operation, the parties agreed to step-up information exchange between their respective bodies, including Europol. Progress was made in talks over an agreement between Euopol and Canada. In the framework of co-operation in the fight against the financing of terrorism, the Europeans and Canadians came down in favour of stepping-up information exchange between the financial intelligence units, so as to increase their ability to engage in preventive actions. The EU and Canada also agreed to look at the possibilities of strengthening information exchange regarding immigration and border controls.
Co-operation in the field of foreign policy, security and defence. The EU undertook to set up with Canada arrangements to facilitate its participation in EU-led crisis management operations. It, notably, invited Ottawa to contribute in the EU police mission, the very first police operation that it will organise in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Regarding the Middle East, the Europeans and Canadians together condemned the violence and terrorism, calling for the respect of United Nations Security Council Resolutions and calling for the warring factions to return to the negotiating table. In this perspective, the EU and Canada declared themselves ready "to help the parties implement their agreements"
Trade co-operation. The parties decided that they would work together for negotiations in the framework of the WTO on the Doha Agenda for development to be concluded by 1 January 2005 and confirmed their intention of ensuring that bilateral and multilateral aid to development systematically take account of considerations relating to trade policy and co-operate in providing developing countries with targeted technical assistance in view of negotiations over the Doha Agenda. As for increasing bilateral trade, the participants in the Summit agreed to ask their ministers and Commissioners to discuss non-tariff barriers and to suggest to them at the next Summit to be held in Ottawa in December measures that could be taken to strengthen reciprocal trade relations. The parties took note of progress achieved in the framework of the Canada/EU trade initiative for a reduction in obstacles to trade and investment. They also hoped that their respective bodies responsible for competition policy would converge their approaches to examining mergers.
The Europeans and Canadians also undertook to pursue their joint efforts regarding sustainable development - especially to ensure the success of the Johannesburg Summit - likewise in the field of access to drinking water and energy. They also agreed to seek together appropriate areas of co-operation in research and development, especially in view of bringing policies regarding science closer to the citizens.
Finally, the EU and Canada undertook to exchange information on respective initiatives on the Nordic Dimension.