Taking on Trump: Canada and EU forge closer ties – The Latest
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is the Guardian.
You can see the sort of contours of some kind of second circle around the EU.
Europe and Canada are stronger together. I think it's laughable. If I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop
trading with Europe.
What is the EU’s proposal for Canada to become its first associate member?
He's clearly upset because Donald Trump is a zero-sum politician and completely transactional.
From the Guardians Today in Focus, this is the latest with me, Lucy Hoff. Well the European Union is going transatlantic, inviting Canada to be its first ever associate member. John Henley, you're our Europe correspondent. This was something that was announced by the EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. What does it actually mean?
Ah well that's the sort of sixty four thousand dollar question nobody actually knows uh is the answer. I have to say she kind of pretty much blindsided everybody um with this proposition.
Including Carney himself, including Including
Carney himself, uh including all the the media and including EU ambassadors. Uh the the words associate membership or associate member w were not in the draft of her speech that was circulated to the press in advance, and they weren't either in the draft that was circulated to EU ambassadors. Uh so everybody was a little bit taken aback. And I think, you know People have subsequently been saying, you know, it's kind of a declaration of intent, uh more than anything else. It's to do with a much deeper and stronger relationship, but quite what form that will take, uh nobody yet knows.
Okay, okay. Well Mark Carney has been addressing the European Parliament today, saying that Canada and the EU are not fair weather allies, that Canada welcomed the ambition of associate membership, so even if he was surprised on Wednesday he's come round to the idea it seems. What did he say that he hoped Canada would get out of this closer relationship?
Well, he's looking for uh I mean very much the same thing as the as the EU in the kind of you know, in the big picture, um, which is to say stronger and deeper cooperation that t would that will be to both sides benefit, you know, in a world that is changing very, very fast and and looking increasingly scary. Um and specifically what both uh von der Leyen and Carney have mentioned in in In their speeches, were you know air specific areas where there could be much greater cooperation and where Canada could be really of great interest uh to the EU would be cooperation on things like energy. Uh Canada obviously, you know, enormous energy supplies, uh critical minerals. Uh Canada is really rich in in critical minerals, things like batteries, uh um high tech cooperation.
And and defence, so all of those areas. And Mark Carney in his speech also mentioned Canadian membership in the Erasmus Plus kind of student exchange scheme and the EU's Horizon Science Research Programme.
How did Mark Carney describe the benefits of deeper Canada‑EU cooperation?
Change scheme. And he made clear, I think, in his speech today, that he was really what he was really interested in was the substance of the corporation rather than kind of whatever. whatever label, whatever name people chose to put on it.
Yeah, and the sort of symbolism of it, even though that is extremely significant. Um, it's fair to say that this has not gone done well in Trump's uh White House. He's been throwing his toys out of the pram, he's been uh threatening his favourite thing to threaten, uh which is tariffs. What have we been hearing from President Trump? And why do you think he's so rattled by this?
Well he said overnight, uh absolutely that that this was a a laughable idea. Um he did kind of qualify it by saying that, you know, if the intentions were good he'd be okay with it. If the intentions were bad, um he would he would sort of tariff the hell out of it. Um yes, I mean he's clearly upset because Donald Trump is a kind of zero sum politician and completely transactional and finds it very hard to deal with the idea, uh as as Carney and von der Leyen both said in their speeches, that this is very much a deal about, you know, uh i a deal for something.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:28
2
What is the EU’s proposal for Canada to become its first associate member?
0:28–3:17
3
How did Mark Carney describe the benefits of deeper Canada‑EU cooperation?
3:17–5:50
4
Which sectors (energy, minerals, defence, research) could gain from the new partnership?
5:50–8:42
5
Why is President Trump threatening tariffs over the Canada‑EU associate deal?
8:42–11:48
6
How does the associate‑member idea compare with the UK’s post‑Brexit relationship with the EU?
11:48–13:00
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Today in Focus
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