Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“As discussions unfold over the EU’s proposed ‘associate membership’ for Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly stressed his desire for an economic and geopolitical partnership that preserves national sovereignty. This alliance serves the mutual interests of both the European Union and Canada by reducing strategic dependence on major third-party trading partners, particularly the United States and China. The paradox is that the core economic instrument designed to unite Canada and the EU, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), remains without full ratification by 10 EU national parliaments, nearly a decade after entering into provisional application. Rather than dismissing the concerns of these 10 member states as blind protectionism, one must understand that Brussels’s excessive regulations created the conditions for this impasse.” (09/21/26)