June 21, 2001
Stockholm, Sweden

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that Canada and the European Union (EU) have agreed to several new initiatives following the Canada-EU Summit held in Stockholm, Sweden. At the Summit, the Canadian Prime Minister met with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Göran Persson, representing the presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.

"The European Union is a valued partner for Canada and at each of our Summits we continue our discussions on how we can cooperate on various important foreign policy and trade issues," said the Prime Minister. "As we celebrate the 25^th anniversary of formal Canada-EU relations, we will continue to coordinate our actions on important issues such as northern cooperation, non-proliferation and arms control, human security and trade."

Following their meetings, the leaders agreed to the following documents:

The Joint Progress Report on Northern Cooperation highlights common northern cooperation, flags future initiatives and proposes a mechanism for Canada and the EU to engage Russia.

In the Joint Declaration on Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament, Canada and EU convey their concerns about the status of the global non-proliferation and arms control regime. The statement also reflects Canadian and EU engagement in multilateral efforts to advance the international agenda in this area.

The Joint Statement on Canada-EU Cooperation in UN Fora highlights Canada-EU cooperation within the United Nations in advance of several UN events and outlines shared views on the implementation of the International Criminal Court.

The Joint Statement on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) underlines the importance of launching new WTO negotiations at the Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November.

The Europe-Canada Trade Initiative (ECTI) Progress Report reviews advances made toward certain trade liberalization goals set under ECTI during the past six months, for example improved market access for Canadian ice wine in Europe.

In the Canada-European Union Joint Statement on Climate Change both Canada and the EU reiterate that climate change is an urgent global challenge and remain committed to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Canada and the EU have agreed to continue to participate constructively when negotiations resume in Bonn, July 16-27, 2001 (CoP6 bis).

In the Highlights of Canada-EU Cooperation During the Swedish Presidency, additional areas of Canada-EU dialogue during the current EU Presidency and future opportunities for collaboration are listed.

Prime Minister Chrétien was accompanied to the Summit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Manley and the Minister for International Trade, Pierre Pettigrew.

At the Summit, Minister Pettigrew has provided the European Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy with the Canada-European Union Trade and Investment Relations: The Impact of Tariff Elimination study, which concludes that Canada-EU trade could increase over $10 billion a year if tariffs were eliminated on transatlantic trade.

The Prime Minister also welcomed a memorandum of understanding on future cooperation which was signed between the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden’s largest faculty of Medicine and one of the world’s most prestigious centres of academic research, and Genome Canada, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to developing and implementing a national strategy in genomics research. The signing ceremony was held on June 20, 2001 in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley.

Canada-EU Summits are held twice yearly, in addition to regularly scheduled meetings at the ministerial and senior official levels, and provide an opportunity for leaders to discuss global issues and identify opportunities for strengthening Canada-EU cooperation.

Sweden’s presidency of the Council of the European Union ends on June 30th, 2001. Belgium assumes the presidency effective July 1st, 2001.

A backgrounder on these initiatives is attached.

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PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

The full statements and reports are posted on the following website: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/english/geo/europe/EU/Eumainpage2english.html

The Canada EU Joint Report on Northern Cooperation as promised in the Joint Statement on Northern Co-operation of December 1999 highlights the progress we have made at the highest political level to promote co-operation in the North through information exchange, expert level dialogue, and joint projects. Canada and the European Union have both adopted distinctive policies for the North. The European Union is implementing a Northern Dimension Action Plan. Canada is pursuing the Northern Dimension of Canada’s Foreign Policy. Both approaches clearly recognise the importance of mutual cooperation.

Canada and the European Union agree that non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament represent a major factor in promoting global peace and security. The two sides share the view that recent developments relating to weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery make it essential that they consult closely on the nature of the challenge and on ways to move forward against it. They therefore undertake to intensify their dialogue with a view to developing proposals for practical cooperation in this field.

Canada and the EU stress the centrality of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and express their determination to work together for the Treaty's full implementation and the implementation of the objectives of the 2000 Review Conference. They likewise reaffirm their support for a range of other multilateral norms and treaties in the non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament field, including efforts to promote an international code of conduct on missile activities.

With this statement, Canada and the EU reinforce their collaboration in advance of several important UN events, for example the June 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS, the July 2001 United Nations Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and the September 2001 UNGASS on Children. Canada and the EU also signal their commitment to continued cooperation through the UN, the G8, and the South Africa-led Kimberley Process on efforts to break the link between the illicit trade in rough diamonds and armed conflict. In this joint statement, Canada and the EU also undertake to promote the ratification, accession, and implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC will play an important role in ending impunity for serious international crimes and will serve to strengthen the rule of law.

Canada-European Union Joint Statement on the World Trade Organization (WTO)

This statement reflects the commitment of Canada and the European Union to launching a new round of world trade negotiations that reflect the interest of all WTO Members by improving access to all markets and ensuring that trade rules keep pace with the needs of a modern economy. Canada and the EU recognize that the negotiations must help developing countries address the challenges they face in integrating into a global economy. As well, the negotiations need to respond to legitimate public concerns about the trading system by supporting sustainable development and other broad social goals. Canada and the EU also stress the importance of further improving the WTO's openness to the public. Such openness will promote public understanding of the benefits of trade and clear and equitable rules, and WTO members will benefit from the views and support of an informed global public.

The EU-Canada Trade Initiative (ECTI) was launched at the Canada-EU Summit in Ottawa in December, 1998. It sets a limited number of objectives aimed at improving market access and bilateral economic cooperation over a range of issues. These objectives include: regulatory cooperation, services, intellectual property, competition issues, cultural cooperation, business-to-business contacts, and electronic commerce. It also calls for regular consultations between both parties on multilateral trade issues.

Some of ECTI’s accomplishments include:

• Canada-EC Agreement regarding the Application of their Competition Laws, signed in June 1999;
• the Canada-Europe Round Table (CERT) business grouping which former Minister for International Trade Roy MacLaren is now co-chairing;
• Bilateral discussions on wine and spirits trade issues which made recent progress on the question of ice wine;
• implementation of the Veterinary Agreement which aims to reduce regulatory barriers to trade with respect to animal products;
• the Mutual Recognition Agreement on Conformity Assessment and its six annexes which are in various stages of implementation.

An ECTI Progress report is prepared for the approval of trade ministers at each Summit. It reviews progress made toward objectives since the last Summit and sets new goals to be reached in future. Over the last six months significant progress has been made on wine and spirits issues, high level consultations have been held on WTO matters, implementation of the Veterinary Agreement is being advanced and progress is being made with respect to the data privacy question.

Canada-European Union Joint Statement on Climate Change

The EU and Canada recognize that climate change is one of the most urgent global challenges and reaffirm their strong commitment to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and to meeting their targets under the Kyoto Protocol. Canada and the EU agree to continue to participate constructively in resumed CoP6 negotiations with the aim of reaching a comprehensive and balanced package of decisions on rules to implement the Kyoto Protocol and support those ready to carry forward the ratification process. The EU and Canada will strengthen their efforts to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions, implement respective national programmes, and make use of market-based mechanisms and new climate-friendly technologies. Canada and the EU also discussed how to encourage further efforts by others in this regard and underlined their commitment to provide support to help developing countries address climate change.

This study presented to the European Union by Canada suggests that eliminating tariffs on Canada-EU trade would benefit consumers and business on both sides of the Atlantic through increased product choice, lower prices and lower costs for industrial inputs. This study provides a basis for public discussion about liberalizing trade on a bilateral basis between Canada and its second most important trade partner, the European Union.

The full statements and reports are posted on the following website: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/english/geo/europe/EU/Eumainpage2english.html