
After agreeing 30-day timeline, Mark Carney now says ‘nothing's assured' on deal with U.S.
Article content
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney lowered expectations on Monday about reaching an agreement with the United States for an economic and security pact by July 21.
Speaking in Brussels, where he signed a defence partnership with the European Union (EU), Carney was asked which options Canada would be considering, besides higher tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, if he does not strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump within the next 30 days — as agreed to during the G7 summit last week in Kananaskis.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Bell: Danielle Smith goes on offence against a two-faced Mark Carney
Article content There is a very attractive project in Quebec. There are very attractive projects elsewhere. There are very attractive projects involving critical minerals and AI and projects not on any premier's list. Blah, blah, blah. Article content The projects will have to be in line with 'the climate goals in Canada' and have the thumbs-up from Indigenous people. Article content Article content Instead of just cooking up a list of favoured projects, the prime minister could simply get to the heart of the matter and say: No, the planned emissions cap on oil and gas is not happening. Article content Just that. Article content Now that would be front-page news, for good reason. Article content It would show Canadians this prime minister is serious. Article content With that emissions cap on the table, this is all just politicking. Article content Then Carney could rewrite the No More Pipelines law and scrap the net-power electricity regulations and Canada and Alberta would be off to the races. Article content Article content Making money!!! For Alberta and the rest of Canada. Article content Doesn't Carney want Canada to be an energy superpower? Article content Yes, it is true Carney got rid of the consumer carbon tax but that was because the Liberals were facing a beating at the polls. The Liberals are not facing an election now. Article content They can be … well … Liberals. Article content Right now nobody, except those who like betting long shots, has confidence Carney will deliver the goods. Article content The square root of squat. Article content Words, words and more words floating through the air. Question after question, never answered. Article content


Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
EU and Canada sign security pact as Carney pivots from U.S.
Article content (Bloomberg) — The European Union and Canada have signed a security partnership that moves them closer to cooperation on military purchases, as Prime Minister Mark Carney aims to reduce his country's dependence on the US for defense. Article content Carney and EU leaders described the move as a first step toward participation in the 27-member bloc's €150 billion ($173 billion) joint-purchase loan pool dubbed Security Action for Europe (SAFE), part of its proposed €800 billion ReArm Europe initiative. Access to SAFE still has to be negotiated and requires purchase-by-purchase agreements led by European partners. Article content Article content Article content At a news conference alongside Carney and European Council President Antonio Costa in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU and Canada would 'swiftly' launch talks on the North American nation accessing the financial instrument. Article content Article content Carney said in a 'world that's more dangerous and divided, a time where the rules-based global order is under threat, at a time when technological change is accelerating, we really have two choices.' Article content 'We can nostalgically look back and long for the old order to somehow return, or we can build a new one with purpose and partnership. And as the most European of the non-European countries, Canada looks first to the European Union to build a better world.' Carney is advancing a campaign pledge to re-balance Canada away from its security reliance on the US, where it currently spends the vast majority of its defense dollars. President Donald Trump has imposed punishing tariffs and repeatedly said the country should be a 51st US state. Article content Article content The EU and Canada will try to improve interoperability of equipment and personnel, develop maritime security in areas including the Indo-Pacific and consider joint naval activities, according to the agreement released after a summit attended by Carney, von der Leyen and Costa. Article content The deal — which mentions 'cyber' 13 times — also pledges to consider joint action against sources of foreign interference and share information on 'emerging disruptive technologies,' including the governance of AI in defense. Article content The EU is broadening its multilateral efforts after indications from Trump that he'd pull back the US role in European security. The bloc also signed a security pact with the UK last month, five years since Brexit. Article content Carney said Monday's announcement marked a 'new era of cooperation' that would see Canada and the bloc soon lanuch comprehensive negotiations to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including trade and economic security, the digital transition and climate change.


Canada News.Net
3 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Hungary's Veto Casts Shadow Over EU Enlargement Talks
A day after the NATO summit in The Hague ends, EU leaders will take the short journey south to Brussels for their regular summer European Council. Kicking off on the morning of June 26, this summit may continue into the next day as there are plenty of items on the agenda -- most notably Iran, where the EU is struggling to stay relevant. According to the Brussels diplomats I have spoken with, however, the bloc still aims to act as aconduit for potential direct talksbetween the United States and Tehran. That said, there are also several key political decisions on the table -- especially concerning Ukraine. When Poland took over the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with much pomp and circumstance at the start of the year, the stated goal was that formal EU accession talks would start with Ukraine and Moldova during the first six months of 2025. SEE ALSO: Caught Off-Guard By US Strikes On Iran, Europe Still Looking For Role Polish diplomats had even confidently voiced hopes that more than one of the six negotiating clusters would be opened during their chairmanship. It's fair to say that things have not panned out as expected. 'Last Chance Saloon' Unanimity is needed for every cluster to be opened, and Hungary has persistently blocked any move to this effect, even conducting a widely criticized consultative referendum on Ukrainian EU membership. This summit is something of a "last chance saloon" to unblock the situation but few diplomats believe that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will give it much thought. Some think that maybe things will get moving on this issue after the summit in July when Denmark takes over the presidency. However, since this has increasingly become a domestic political issue in Hungary, most believe Budapest will continue vetoing progress until the country's parliamentary elections in April 2026. SEE ALSO: EU Plans Historic Moldova Summit But Stays Vague On Accession Timeline As regards Ukraine and Moldova, the draft summit declaration seen by RFE/RL states that "the European Council looks forward to the next steps in the accession process in line with the merit-based approach, with clusters being opened when the conditions are met." The key question now is whether Ukraine and Moldova should be separated in the accession process, as none of the 27 EU member states appear opposed to allowing Chisinau to proceed. Several member states, however, are reluctant to green-light this "decoupling" as they don't want to "succumb to Hungarian blackmail" as they put it, and believe that the pair should continue together on the road to membership. A Carrot For Moldova On the other hand, the EU also wants to give Moldova a carrot, with thefirst-ever EU-Moldova summit in early Julyand what are expected to be tightly fought parliamentary elections in September. The most likely scenario, however, is that all preparatory work on the accession talks will continue in the hope that every cluster can be opened once there is approval from everyone. For now, the most likely candidate to show concrete progress at the end of June is Montenegro, which is expected to close a cluster of chapters on June 27. SEE ALSO: Does The EU Still Have The Sanctions Cards Needed To Hurt Russia? So much for the "EU enlargement momentum" eurocrats have so often keenly propagated in previous years. If there is one area where Hungary -- and increasingly Slovakia -- may be more willing to move forward, it is on sanctions against Russia. And there are two decisions to be taken on sanctions: the newly proposed18th round of restrictive measuresand the six-month rollover of all sanctions imposed on the Kremlin since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. Quid Pro Quo? Several European diplomats have indicated that there might be something of a quid pro quo during the summit, whereby both sanctions decisions will be adopted, but it will be generally accepted that Ukraine cannot move forward on the accession path for now. For most officials, the most important thing is to get an extension of all the previous sanctions. This includes all frozen Russian assets in the bloc, totaling over 200 billion euros ($230 billion). Hungary was toying with the idea of not a giving thumbs-up to the prolongation last time around in January, but officials think that it won't be too dramatic this time, with Russia's increased attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets making any calls for potential peace talks moot. SEE ALSO: Defense Spending, Ukraine, And Trump: What To Expect At NATO's Hague Summit The fact that the actual deadline for the extension isn't till the end of July means most people RFE/RL has spoken are confident that something can be worked out. For the 18th sanctions package, most things have been agreed on a diplomatic level already. This is not too surprising, as most of the blacklistings and proposals -- such as de-SWIFTing Russian banks and sanctioning Nord Stream 1 and 2 -- have been relatively uncontroversial. Quick approval is also more likely now that the headline proposal to lower the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel appears unlikely to gain traction. The United States didn't get onboard with this idea at the recent Group of Seven summit, and few believe that the EU -- even with potential political support from allies such as Britain and Canada -- is willing or able to lower the cap without Washington.