Canada plays down EU ‘associate member’ label

{"text":[[{"start":7.96,"text":"Canada’s ambition to become the EU’s first “associate member” should not be overplayed, Ottawa’s envoy to the bloc has said, warning that both sides face an uphill battle to turn a raft of partnership ideas into reality."}],[{"start":20.4,"text":"Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week both backed the term — an ambitious pitch to make Canada the EU’s closest ally in the face of a more hostile US and China."}],[{"start":33.8,"text":"US President Donald Trump hit back at the plans, threatening Brussels with “very serious tariffs” if the closer ties amounted to a “hostile act” against the US."}],[{"start":43.84,"text":"“This is not anti-Trump or anti-American, it’s not anti-China,” Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU Jonathan Wilkinson told the FT. “This is about us coming together with partners that share the same values as we do.”"}],[{"start":58.04,"text":"But he warned that “this project is not a simple one” and that making progress in certain areas, including critical raw materials and energy supplies, before a summit at the end of October would require both sides to be “ambitious”."}],[{"start":70.12,"text":"“We’re trying to actually play down the name issue. We’d rather people focus on the substance,” said Wilkinson."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":76.4,"text":"“We haven’t landed on what the name of it should be,” he added. “[We] need to see what the shape of it is at the end of this before, you know, how you might want to characterise it.”"}],[{"start":86.24,"text":"Wilkinson said the “alliance” would “address some areas where we don’t want to be fully dependent on other countries,” including “economic security-related issues”, digital, supercomputing, AI, and critical minerals and energy supplies. “This is actually about strengthening sovereignty for those of us who are not hegemons.”"}],[{"start":103.6,"text":"“We need to ensure we have a constructive relationship with the United States, so this is not a replacement for that,” he added. “This is about diversification, enhancing resilience, reducing exposure . . . in particular areas where having access to things that don’t belong just to China or to the United States is actually going to be important.”"}],[{"start":123.92,"text":"Von der Leyen embraced the term “associate membership” despite misgivings among the EU’s 27 capitals about offering Ottawa a status that does not formally exist and had not been agreed in advance. Berlin promptly pushed back, partly because of its own failed attempt to secure “associate member” status for Ukraine rather than the full membership Kyiv has applied for."}],[{"start":146.1,"text":"Wilkinson acknowledged that “a lot” of the work so far had been with von der Leyen’s team, and said discussions with EU member states — which must ultimately approve any new initiatives — would intensify before the October summit."}],[{"start":158.36,"text":"Outreach to capitals was “something that we are going to need to ramp up to make sure everybody understands what we’re trying to do, and that there’s no misunderstandings that could actually create bumps in the road”, he said."}],[{"start":171.04,"text":"Wilkinson said Canada was prepared to pay to join or expand its role in European projects — such as the Erasmus student exchange scheme and Horizon research programme — but would also “effectively set up new ways of doing things” with Brussels."}],[{"start":185.16,"text":"He said the two sides were also aiming to address a number of trade “irritants” before the summit, though he could not guarantee success."}],[{"start":192.16,"text":"The EU wants Canada to lower its tariffs on steel and eliminate a luxury car tax, which mainly hits German models. Brussels also takes issue with Ottawa’s “Buy Canadian” procurement policy."}],[{"start":203.6,"text":"Ottawa, in turn, wants Brussels to soften the impact of both an impending carbon tax on imports and an EU ban on some goods that have contributed to deforestation. “There are some implementation challenges,” said Wilkinson. Canada also wants talks on incoming rules that would ban some foodstuffs grown with pesticides."}],[{"start":223.72,"text":"Hinting at a broad deal, Wilkinson said: “I do think that there’s some perhaps thoughtful ways that we can address some of these issues in the near term.”"}],[{"start":236.84,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789781907_3210.mp3"}