Press Release: Joint statement on EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement by President Herman Van Rompuy and President José Manuel Barroso.

On 24 March 2014, the President of the European Council, Van Rompuy, and the President of European Commission, Barroso issued a statement following their meeting with Prime Minister Harper in the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague. According to the statement, they concluded politically, together with Prime Minister Harper, for a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA).

The SPA enshrines the EU and Canada's joint values and will strengthen political dialogue and set the framework for cooperation in a broad range of areas. Beyond improving the institutional structure of the relationship, it will contribute considerably to the deepening of ties in all fields of cooperation such as education, transport, energy, the Arctic, as well as science and technology. Most importantly it enriches the political dimension of the EU-Canada relationship through enhanced foreign policy cooperation and by a heightened focus on issues such as crisis management and security.

European Commission: RAPID: STATEMENT/14/80: EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-80_en.pdf

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