EU Strategy: Experts urge Canada to lock in trade gains

Nine of the 27 European Union member states have not yet ratified the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The gap in full implementation has prompted European policy experts to urge the Canadian government to prioritize legal certainty over symbolic political titles.

Academics provided testimony on Monday to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. The session followed a summit in Montreal last week where Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met. While officials described the meeting as a historic partnership, the experts argued that the agreements reached remain largely expressions of intent.

Mark Manger, a professor at the University of Toronto, stated that he is still waiting for a concrete announcement regarding the trade relationship. He noted that Mexico already possesses many of the arrangements with the EU that Canada is currently seeking. Manger recommended that Ottawa and Brussels add economic and legal parameters to the existing deal to secure long-term relationships for Canadian firms.

The debate has intensified over the term associate member. Von der Leyen introduced the concept in September, and Carney formally adopted the phrasing on Thursday. Achim Hurrelmann, co-director of the Centre for European Studies at Carleton University, described the term as a distraction because the EU has not defined how the status would integrate into its laws. Hurrelmann suggested the status serves as a symbolic affirmation of the relationship, akin to moving from a common-law relationship to marriage.

Anand Sundar, a transatlantic defence adviser at the European Council on Foreign Relations, observed that Brussels is pushing the associate membership idea despite objections from member states like Germany. He characterized the move as a political game that may benefit the European Commission but not all EU nations.

Hurrelmann advised Ottawa to restructure the trade deal to increase economic gains by changing its status from a mixed agreement. The current framework requires individual ratification by each member state. He also proposed allowing European mobile networks to operate in Canada in exchange for dropping restrictions on Canadian food imports. Specific friction points include European objections to Canada's dairy quota and protected-origin phrasing for products like feta cheese.

The experts warned that rising far-right movements in Europe skeptical of international partnerships could slow progress. Hurrelmann said officials must determine how quickly the agreement can be put into legal force on the European side. He emphasized that closer ties require cross-party collaboration in Ottawa, a point challenged by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who argued the summit distracted from domestic issues and risked Canadian sovereignty.