PM Carney in Armenia Monday for talks with European Political Community

Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Armenia Monday to take part in the European Political Community.

The European political party is a coalition larger than the European Union itself. It was founded in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine, and focuses on the shared security and prosperity of nations.

“European independence does not mean looking inward, not at all, it’s the opposite. It’s reaching out to like-minded partners … because we need stable, reliable supply chains,” says Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.

Canada is the first non-european nation to receive an invitation to the summit and Prime Minister Mark Carney says Europe is Canada’s future.

“It’s my strong personal view that the international world order will be rebuilt, but it will be rebuilt out of Europe,” says Carney. “So I’m very appreciative of this invitation, thank you.”

Carney has been working hard to strengthen ties with Europe as the relationship with our neighbours south of the border shows little to no signs of recovery.

Meanwhile, with the Canada-U.S-Mexico trade agreement up for a mandatory review in July, Carney’s critics say he should be paying more attention to matters on American soil.

“He’s already made a lot of unilateral concessions and gotten absolutely nothing in return except double the tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and lumber,” says the leader of the official opposition, Pierre Poilievre. “Now he can’t tell us what leverage we have, what demands he’s making, what tariffs he wants to get removed and when or if he will even get a deal at all.”

Leaders attending the summit are currently taking part in bi- and multi-lateral meetings regarding matters of securing supply chains, critical minerals, energy and digital technology.

Carney is scheduled to fly back to Ottawa after the busy day.

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