General Charles de Gaulle used to talk about Europe stretching “from the Atlantic to the Urals”. At the time, he was defending a geopolitical project designed to reunify the continent as the Cold War split Europe into two blocs.
But in the midst of the current global geopolitical shift, could the Atlantic border extend to Canada?
Perhaps de Gaulle, who had a fierce desire for independence from the US, would have sympathised with Ottawa’s concerns and said “oui”.
The arrival of Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in Strasbourg in mid-September to attend the State of the Union address by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and then address the EU’s parliamentary assembly will be the first step in a rapprochement between Ottawa and Brussels.
Since last week, Canada has been waging a trade war against its historical ally, the US, a move that could lead Ottawa closer toward the EU. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in a social media post that the visit would be “an opportunity to deepen EU-Canada ties and strengthen our bond.”
