The hosts of ‘The Rest is Politics’ were vindicated last week when Canada and the European Union announced details of their closer partnership. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced more about what it means for Canada to become an EU ‘Associate Member’. The move is a crucial step towards Rory Stewart’s utopian ‘middle power alliance’ and comes at a time when it’s never been more vital.
The specifics of associate memberships aren’t quite clear yet, but what is abundantly obvious is the benefits of this alliance. It aims to open up markets, (hopefully) expand Canada’s role in Erasmus+, and help reduce prices for Canada and EU members alike.
A closer alliance will also be hugely beneficial for national security. Both parties currently have threatening superpowers breathing down their necks. One of these countries is led by an unstable authoritarian who starts aggressive wars for fun and sends troops to suppress his own people; the other is led by Putin.
For Canada, having faced incessant insults, threats, and tariffs from their supposed closest trading partner has clearly put the country off. By diversifying their trading destinations, Canadians’ quality of life is less at the mercy of the US President’s mood swings.
For the EU, the agreement has already secured Canadian help with the EU’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Fund, crucial for assisting in the war effort against Putin. Right now, as support for Ukraine is draining thanks to the spineless populists of the world, this alliance should be a sliver of hope for their embattled troops.
However, just explaining their alliance in terms of mutual benefits only minimises its significance. The most important part of this union is what it signifies. It proves that Carney’s defiance of Trump is not just empty rhetoric. It proves that the EU still has dynamism and hasn’t given up on expansion. At least, it is an economic union which signifies America’s vastly diminished international image. At most, it shows Trump, Putin, and all the other authoritarian dictators, that the middle powers and democracies of the world are willing to stand up for themselves.
Regardless of Brexit, it has major symbolic implications for the UK as well. We too should take this golden opportunity to stand behind the EU and Canada for our own economic interests. It demonstrates that we don’t need to send Andy Burnham to squirm in a chair next to Trump discussing futile North Sea oil ventures when instead there’s a wealth of economic opportunity in closer EU integration.
The message of all of this is that the UK government should take notes and kick into gear. We will watch, over the next few years, as Canada and the EU, with Mark Carney at the helm, lead the sensible world. Let’s hope that he can keep stealing the spotlight from the likes of Trump and be the defender of the Rest is Politics’ beloved rules-based international order.
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash
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Canada and the EU are becoming more than just friends
The hosts of ‘The Rest is Politics’ were vindicated last week when Canada and the European Union announced details of their closer partnership. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced more about what it means for Canada to become an EU ‘Associate Member’. The move is a crucial step towards Rory Stewart’s utopian ‘middle power alliance’ and comes at a time when it’s never been more vital.
The specifics of associate memberships aren’t quite clear yet, but what is abundantly obvious is the benefits of this alliance. It aims to open up markets, (hopefully) expand Canada’s role in Erasmus+, and help reduce prices for Canada and EU members alike.
A closer alliance will also be hugely beneficial for national security. Both parties currently have threatening superpowers breathing down their necks. One of these countries is led by an unstable authoritarian who starts aggressive wars for fun and sends troops to suppress his own people; the other is led by Putin.
For Canada, having faced incessant insults, threats, and tariffs from their supposed closest trading partner has clearly put the country off. By diversifying their trading destinations, Canadians’ quality of life is less at the mercy of the US President’s mood swings.
For the EU, the agreement has already secured Canadian help with the EU’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Fund, crucial for assisting in the war effort against Putin. Right now, as support for Ukraine is draining thanks to the spineless populists of the world, this alliance should be a sliver of hope for their embattled troops.
However, just explaining their alliance in terms of mutual benefits only minimises its significance. The most important part of this union is what it signifies. It proves that Carney’s defiance of Trump is not just empty rhetoric. It proves that the EU still has dynamism and hasn’t given up on expansion. At least, it is an economic union which signifies America’s vastly diminished international image. At most, it shows Trump, Putin, and all the other authoritarian dictators, that the middle powers and democracies of the world are willing to stand up for themselves.
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Regardless of Brexit, it has major symbolic implications for the UK as well. We too should take this golden opportunity to stand behind the EU and Canada for our own economic interests. It demonstrates that we don’t need to send Andy Burnham to squirm in a chair next to Trump discussing futile North Sea oil ventures when instead there’s a wealth of economic opportunity in closer EU integration.
The message of all of this is that the UK government should take notes and kick into gear. We will watch, over the next few years, as Canada and the EU, with Mark Carney at the helm, lead the sensible world. Let’s hope that he can keep stealing the spotlight from the likes of Trump and be the defender of the Rest is Politics’ beloved rules-based international order.
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash
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