Pristatymas

The Delegation for relations with Canada (D-CA) oversees the European Parliament's relations with Canada, one of the EU's closest allies.

For more than 40 years, the delegation has held annual interparliamentary meetings (IPMs) with Canadian parliamentarians. The meetings alternate between Brussels, Ottawa and other locations in Canada. At the end of each meeting, delegates usually issue a joint statement.

In addition, the delegation meets several times a year in Brussels and Strasbourg to discuss topics of interest to its Members, often also with the participation of Canadian parliamentarians.

The Chair and delegation members actively engage in parliamentary diplomacy with their Canadian counterparts, academics, various stakeholders, and visitor groups from Canada.

Chair and membership

The delegation has 18 Full Members and 18 Substitute Members and is currently chaired by Javier Moreno Sánchez (S&D, ES). Romana Tomc (EPP, SL) and Arash Saeidi (The Left, FR) are vice-chairs.

The Chair and Vice-Chairs are elected by the members of the delegation. All members are drawn from Parliament's political groups, with the political makeup of the delegation broadly reflecting that of Parliament as a whole.

Canadian counterparts

The Delegation's counterpart in the Parliament of Canada is the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association (CAEU).

In addition, the D-CA delegation meets with Canada's provincial authorities. This manner of working reflects the division of competences in the country's political system and helps Members gain a better understanding of the Canadian context.

Political relations solidified by the Strategic Partnership Agreement

The Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) signed by Canada and the EU on 30 October 2016 (and provisionally applied since 1 April 2017) advances bilateral foreign policy goals while providing a platform for joint international action.

The agreement reinforces cooperation in strategic areas, including international peace and security, human rights, environmental protection, research, innovation, energy security, and education.

It also provides a new framework for deepening the political cooperation between the two sides. Specifically, under Article 27(e), the promotion of exchanges of delegations from the European Parliament and the Parliament of Canada is foreseen.

Building on the SPA, the 38th Inter-Parliamentary Meeting (2017) adopted a joint statement in which both Parliaments committed to strengthening the level of discourse between them, as a counterpart to other bodies set up under SPA, such as the Joint Cooperation Committee and the Joint Ministerial Committee. With a view to transforming the IPMs into an ongoing and uninterrupted dialogue, they agreed to additional (videoconference) meetings of delegations.

Trade and economic links underpinned by CETA

Trade and economic activity between the two partners are boosted by the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that has been applied provisionally since 21 September 2017.

Signed at the EU-Canada Summit in Brussels in October 2016, CETA goes beyond removing customs duties and contains ambitious chapters on sustainable development, labour, and the environment.

As CETA was concluded as a "mixed EU agreement", it will take full effect once the ratification process has also been completed in all EU Member States' parliaments. To date, ten Member States are yet to ratify the agreement.

On 25 October 2022, the Chair of the D-CA, Javier Moreno Sánchez (then Vice-Chair), was tasked with drafting a report on the implementation of CETA. The European Parliament adopted the resolution on the report on 16 January 2024. The report praised the solidification of economic ties between both sides, as well as the increased trade in goods and services. It also recommended raising awareness on both sides with regards to the benefits of the agreement and pressed the ten Member States, who have yet to ratify CETA, to do so, in order for the agreement to be fully implemented.