Irish finance minister says EU-Canada ties won’t weaken US relationship
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Ireland’s finance minister Simon Harris said deeper EU-Canada cooperation will not diminish the transatlantic trade link with the United States, amid discussions on a proposed EU associate status for Canada.
Ireland’s finance minister Simon Harris told reporters that strengthening economic links between the European Union and Canada will not come at the expense of the United States, describing the relationship as “not about having a less close relationship with anybody.”
Harris said the United States “will understand that because it’s the truth,” and emphasized that the EU and the US have “an extraordinarily interdependent economic trading relationship.” He added that he hopes the EU will not have to choose between its trading ties with the US and Canada.
The comments followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal, announced in her State of the Union address, to grant Canada an “associate member” status – a legal category that does not currently exist. The suggestion drew a sharp response from the US, where President Donald Trump warned it could be seen as a “hostile act” and threatened “very heavy tariffs.”
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is scheduled to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin hosted by Harris on Friday, alongside finance ministers from the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Switzerland. The gathering will address economic updates and one-on-one talks despite ongoing disagreements over the EU’s seven-year budget.
European Investment Bank head Nadia Calviño will travel to Ottawa to discuss cooperation on critical raw materials. Harris described Canada’s interest in deeper cooperation as “a vote of confidence in the European Union” and said the EU remains “outward-looking” while some countries choose to look inward. He called the associate-member proposal “really exciting,” citing climate and cybersecurity as areas for joint action.