Québec/Canada and the EU: A Growing and Strategic Transatlantic Relation

Speakers: Jean Charest, Prime Minister of Québec; H.E. Jeremy Kinsmann, Ambassador of Canada to the EU; Jim Cloos, Director General, Council of the European Union; Gunnar Wiegand, Head of Unit for Canada and the United States, DG Relex, European Commission  
 
Chairman: H. Onno Ruding, Chairman of the CEPS Board of Directors
 
Date: 3 March 2005
 
On the 3rd of March 2005 the Prime Minister of Quebec, Jean Charest, gave a keynote speech at CEPS in which he outlined the increasing grounds for cooperation between Canada and the European Union. In the panel debate that followed, Jeremy Kinsman, Canada’s Ambassador to the EU, Jim Cloos from the EU Council and Gunnar Wiegand from DG Relex of the European Commission also stressed the importance of this strategic partnership.
 
Mr Charest mentioned five factors for a new closer relationship between the two partners. The first factor is the common support for a regulated liberalisation of international economic trade, because this should allow the development of a more ‘human’ and comprehensive approach to the globalisation of the two economies. On social, cultural and environmental issues, Quebec would particularly share many European views. Quebec would also support the Trade and Investment Enhancement Agreement (TIEA), which Canada and the EU intend to sign in the coming months.
 
A second factor mentioned by the Prime Minister was the strength of current bilateral trade. Foreign direct investment between Canada and the European Union has more than doubled since 1999 and grown faster than the pace of US investment in Canada.
 
Mr Charest noted the links between European and Canadian societies as an important factor for closer cooperation. For example, European and Quebecois researchers already work very closely together. Moreover, Quebec has signed social security agreements with 19 European countries to promote labour force mobility. This tied in with a fourth point made on complementary expertise in many fields in which both societies must find innovative solutions, such as the integration of immigrants, the balance between work and family life or the fight against organised crime.
 
Finally yet importantly, the Prime Minister mentioned the common interest in promoting multilateralism as an important ground for cooperation on the international scene. In summing up he stressed the role of Quebec as a driving force behind the EU-Canadian relationship, where the different factors he highlighted are especially strong.
 
In their reactions, the other speakers very much agreed with Mr Charest and also underlined the important potential of Canada’s role for EU-US relations. The Canadian ambassador emphasised that he fully concurred with the Prime Minister’s speech and stated that Quebec has “a vanguard place in transatlantic relations”. Ambassador Kinsman further stressed the importance of NATO for Canada. On the point of multilateralism, Jim Cloos said both Canada and the EU have come to understand that multilateralism is not just a common value, but also a tool that we have to make sure is working. Mr Wiegand added that the Kyoto protocol is another potential field for future cooperation, where Canada and the EU should try to work together to get the US on board.
 
Text of the Speech by Jean Charest, Prime Minister of Québec (English)
Texte du discours de M. Jean Charest, Premier Ministre du Québec (French)