Carney wraps meetings on security, trade with European leaders in Ireland

Detailed summary

Prime Minister Mark Carney heard from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday about the state of negotiations with Russia as the two discussed continental security…

Prime Minister Mark Carney heard from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday about the state of negotiations with Russia as the two discussed continental security with European leaders.

"Security guarantees are a European responsibility, with Canada, with the United States. So there are tiers for security guarantees," Carney said in French at the start of the European Political Community summit in Dublin.

The summit is an informal gathering of leaders from around Europe that has occurred every six months since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

For the second time, Canada was the only non-European country represented at the table. Since the last meeting in May in Armenia, Carney and European Union leaders have pitched making Canada an "associate member" of the EU — a title they have yet to define.

Carney told reporters that the summit can help advance his goal of boosting affordability and economic opportunities for Canadians through new partnerships with Europe.

"It delivers opportunity — opportunity for our youth, for our artists, for companies. It will deliver affordability, cutting red tape, more competition in Canada, more goods, more choice and security," he said.

Carney also spoke with his counterparts from Greece and Cyprus, two European Union countries that haven't ratified Canada's decade-old trade deal with the EU.

Both countries have held back for reasons that include questions about protected origins for cheeses — such as whether Canadian-made products can be called feta or halloumi.

Carney is seen during a bilateral meeting with Nikos Christodoulides, president of the Republic of Cyprus, on Thursday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

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