France’s Macron and Canada’s Carney announce plans to build stronger ties

Announcement comes as Canada seeks a closer relationship with the EU amid a trade war with the US.

President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Prime Minister Mark Carney in Saint-Pierre on Sunday [AFP]

Canada and France will pursue cooperation on energy, defence, space and other sectors, in what their leaders say is a reflection of shared values between the two countries.

The announcement was made on Sunday during a joint media conference by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron on the island archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic.

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The French territory is only about 25km (15.5 miles) from Newfoundland in Canada. Macron said it is a reflection of the historic closeness between the two countries, who “see the present from the same angle”.

Parts of Canada were once French colonies and French is still one of Canada’s two official languages, along with English.

“We both believe in democracy, in the rule of law, in the respect of international law, in the respect of free and fair commerce and trade,” Macron said alongside Carney. “That is why we support this future alliance, that you named as an associate member of the EU.”

Carney said both countries see eye to eye on protecting sovereignty, and that this meant going beyond “being able to feed, fuel and defend ourselves” to being able to secure access to AI, space, semiconductors, critical minerals and clean energy. Carney said the time had come to strengthen bonds between Canada, France and the European Union based on their “shared values”.

The remarks came as Canada looks to reduce its dependence on the United States amid the escalating trade dispute between the neighbours and instead move closer to the EU.

Carney has said Canada seeks a “unique alliance” with the economic and political bloc, which would fall short of being a full member state. Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed opening the door for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member.”

Canadian and European leaders have openly said they want to forge closer bonds to distance themselves from the United States and the political direction it seems to be going.

“I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival – only with better manners,” Carney said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday. “We do not seek power to dominate others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make it the “51st state”. He has also called for Greenland to be taken away from Denmark and made a part of the US. But this week, he said he was happy with an agreement that he claimed would give Washington “permanent control” over the island, which largely enjoys self-rule but is still a part of Denmark. Both Greenland and Denmark said after the agreement was announced that any deal with the US would not compromise Greenland’s sovereignty.

Trump has called Ottawa’s attempt to move closer to the EU “laughable” and said he would have to study exactly what membership would mean. If it did not satisfy him, Trump said it could be seen as a “hostile act”.

“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs,” Trump said. He also suggested that the US could stop trading with Europe “on many things”.

Canada and the US have been locked in a trade war after failing to reach an agreement. The Trump administration imposed up to 50 percent tariffs on nearly $20bn worth of Canadian products, including machinery, textiles and even hockey sticks. Canada imposed retaliatory measures and the impasse continues.

加拿大在与美国的贸易战中寻求与欧盟建立更紧密的关系，而这项声明正是在此背景下发布的。

周日，法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙（右）和总理马克·卡尼在圣皮埃尔 [法新社]

加拿大和法国将在能源、国防、航天和其他领域开展合作，两国领导人表示，这体现了两国共同的价值观。

该消息于周日由加拿大总理马克·卡尼和法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙在北大西洋的圣皮埃尔和密克隆群岛举行的联合新闻发布会上宣布。

问题 1（共 3 题）：加拿大为何想要加入由欧洲主导的联合欧洲远征军 (JEF) 军事伙伴关系？

特朗普称与丹麦达成的协议赋予美国对格陵兰岛的“永久控制权”（共3条，此为第2条）

3名加拿大人对欧盟“准成员国”提案表示欢迎（名单共3人）。

这个法国领土距离加拿大纽芬兰岛仅约25公里（15.5英里）。马克龙表示，这反映了两国之间历史悠久的密切关系，两国“对当下有着相同的认识”。

加拿大部分地区曾是法国殖民地，法语至今仍是加拿大的两种官方语言之一，另一种是英语。

马克龙与卡尼一同表示：“我们都信奉民主、法治、尊重国际法以及自由公平的贸易。正因如此，我们支持您提议将波兰作为欧盟准成员国加入这一未来联盟。”

卡尼表示，两国在维护主权问题上立场一致，这意味着不仅要“能够自给自足、保障自身安全和国防安全”，还要确保获得人工智能、太空、半导体、关键矿产和清洁能源。卡尼说，现在是时候基于“共同价值观”加强加拿大、法国和欧盟之间的联系了。

加拿大发表上述言论之际，正值加美贸易争端不断升级，加拿大希望减少对美国的依赖，转而与欧盟走得更近。

卡尼曾表示，加拿大寻求与欧盟建立“独特的联盟”，但这种联盟并不足以成为正式成员国。上周，欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩提议向加拿大敞开大门，使其成为欧盟首个“联系成员国”。

加拿大和欧洲领导人公开表示，他们希望建立更紧密的联系，以与美国及其政治走向保持距离。

卡尼周四在斯特拉斯堡向欧洲议会发表讲话时表示：“我提议建立第三个集团，并非为了成为大国竞争对手——我们只是想举止更加得体。我们不寻求权力来支配他人。相反，我们追求的是韧性，以确保任何人都无法控制我们的开放市场，损害我们的主权，威胁我们的领土完整，或破坏我们的自由、民主和法治。”

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾多次威胁要吞并加拿大，使其成为美国的“第51个州”。他还呼吁将格陵兰岛从丹麦手中夺走，使其成为美国的一部分。但本周，他却表示对一项协议感到满意，声称该协议将赋予华盛顿对格陵兰岛的“永久控制权”。格陵兰岛在很大程度上享有自治权，但仍是丹麦的一部分。协议宣布后，格陵兰岛和丹麦均表示，与美国达成的任何协议都不会损害格陵兰岛的主权。

特朗普称渥太华试图拉近与欧盟距离的做法“荒谬可笑”，并表示他需要仔细研究加入欧盟究竟意味着什么。特朗普还说，如果加入欧盟不能让他满意，他可能会将其视为“敌对行为”。

特朗普说：“如果是出于好意，那没问题。如果是恶意，我们将征收高额关税。”他还暗示，美国可能会停止与欧洲“在许多方面”的贸易。

加拿大和美国因未能达成协议而陷入贸易战。特朗普政府对价值近200亿美元的加拿大产品加征高达50%的关税，其中包括机械、纺织品甚至曲棍球棒。加拿大采取了报复措施，僵局持续至今。