Carney presses 10 EU countries to ratify Canada trade deal

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has urged the 10 EU countries that have yet to ratify the bloc’s trade deal with Canada to do so, as he seeks closer ties with Europe after trade talks with Washington collapsed. Carney made the plea to the 10 countries — Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia — in an interview with the Financial Times, arguing that closer ties with Europe were the best approach in an uncertain world. He said the trade deal was a “positive initiative” which is good for Europe and for Canada, adding that it would make both sides “more sovereign, more resilient, more independent” and more prosperous. The deal is already effectively in operation, Carney said, but ratification by the remaining EU countries could unlock deeper ties: “I would like to use this opportunity to encourage them to do so.” The ratification push is only one strand of Ottawa’s broader European courtship. In separate talks, officials are working to lock in cooperation on critical minerals, education, digital infrastructure and Arctic security, with a meeting in Montreal next month set to move them forward. The Canada-EU agreement, which entered provisional force in 2017, has not been ratified by 10 of the bloc’s 27 countries, amid concerns that Canadian agricultural exports could hurt European farmers. Carney’s European pivot follows months of escalating trade hostility with Washington. In August, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed additional 50 percent tariffs on certain Canadian goods, including cars, alcohol and dairy. Trump has also called Canada a potential 51st state and ordered Lake Ontario renamed “Lake America.” Carney will address the European Parliament on Thursday, pitching Canada as a reliable partner as its relationship with the U.S. deteriorates.