Canada and the EU : Canada and the European Union

Leaders will review the results of the study in October at the 2008 EU-Canada Summit in Montreal, “with a view to pursuing balanced and closer future EU-Canada economic integration.” The PPF conference thus came roughly two-thirds of the way between the 2007 and 2008 summits and—without prejudging the results of the joint study—it provided an opportunity to raise awareness of the issues, and to di [...] The purpose was to advance the collective understanding of stakeholders and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic of the opportunities and challenges involved in moving the economic partnership agenda forward: What is the rationale for a closer economic partnership? [...] In 2006, Canada’s total trade in goods and services was equivalent to just over 70 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making Canada the second most open country to trade in the G-7 behind only Germany.1 Since the end of the Second World War, two themes have dominated Canadian trade policy: the pull of continentalism on the one hand, and the push to diversify markets to reduce reliance on the [...] The U. S. remains Canada’s most important trading partner, the destination of over 80 percent of Canada exports and the source of over 50 percent of imports.2 The European Union In the fifty years since the Treaty of Rome was signed, the European Union has grown from 6 to 27 countries, 13 of which share a single currency. [...] Québec Premier Jean Charest, a strong advocate for a 21st-century free trade deal with the EU and a labour mobility pact between Québec and France, has led the provinces in their support for a Canada-EU deal—as evidenced in the January 2008 communiqué from the Council of the Federation in January 2008.8 Not unrelated, the provinces have made significant strides in recent years toward the creation