Work on EU-Canada cooperation plan gathers pace

Date: 22/02/1996

MOVES towards an EU-Canada cooperation programme are moving ahead, with a flurry of activity expected in the next two weeks.

An initial plan for negotiations between the two sides is due to be approved by European Commission heads of Cabinet this week and by Commissioners later this month.

Officials now hope that enough progress can be made for an EU-Canada summit to be held in June, although they acknowledge there is “a lot of work to do before then”.

Taking the EU-US action plan as inspiration, the Commission's draft report touches on a range of political, economic and legal affairs issues.

EU officials have said from the beginning that future cooperation with Canada should not be merely an extension of the newly-drafted ties between the Union and the United States, and that the political chapters would be tailored to specific Canadian needs.

However, the Commission draft suggests trilateral work in the fields of crime-fighting, combating drugs, asylum and immigration policies. This idea must be approved by authorities in both Washington and Ottawa, but Commission officials do not expect it to be controversial.

Trade will be another important point on the agenda, amid growing concern within the Commission about the shrinking volume of two-way trade between the long-time commercial partners.

The past decade (during which Canadian exports have increasingly gone to the US and Asia) has seen volume barely stay the same, while each partner's market share in the other's territory has dwindled.

“Growth in trade has not been maintained at a level which is able to keep pace with the growth of the import markets,” states the report, which is due to be discussed by the full Commission on 28 February.

Arguing that trade disputes should not be allowed to get in the way of cooperation, the report says that “ways must be sought of avoiding, where possible, the re-emergence of such problems” and adds that if they do arise, “a commitment must be made to resolve them quickly”.

To reduce the risk of damaging disputes, it recommends an “early warning” system for looming disagreements over trade and investment issues.

The report concludes: “The EU and Canada must move beyond the removal of trade barriers to new areas, such as competition policy, regulatory cooperation, investment, financial services, standards and certification.”

It also recommends a series of “business to business contacts”, in the style of the EU-US action plan, to help set a discussion agenda and lead their governments to policy making.

An aide to Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan said an eventual action plan with Canada would be “similar, but not identical” to the one worked out with Washington.

It could cover a wide range of subjects, but perhaps not as many as the 150-point EU-US action plan.

While broaching many subjects, the draft is still in very general terms and does not focus on specific sectors. EU officials say that in most areas, work would focus on moving towards harmonising standards.

Brittan and Canadian Trade Minister Roy McLaren may begin to discuss specifics in more detail when they meet in Ottawa on 18 March.

The Commission hopes to present its report on prospective ties with Ottawa to EU governments next month and ask for a negotiating mandate.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on three separate bilateral agreements already under way.

A science and technology agreement which would facilitate joint projects and could give Canada limited access to the EU's fourth framework research programme has been approved by Ottawa and is expected to win approval from EU governments next month.

Commission officials also hope that agreements to establish cooperation between customs authorities and to harmonise anti-trust laws will be concluded this year.

The customs agreement would not involve any discussion of tariffs, and the competition accord would not broach the subject of public procurement.