Carney Discovers the Limits of His Charm in Europe

Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived at Brussels confident he could secure status as an associate member of the European Union as he attempts to turn away from America. First the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was too busy to watch his speech on Thursday. Then leaders of EU countries poured cold water on the idea. While Ms. von der Leyen eventually changed her mind, the leaders did not.Mr. Carney may have found the limits to his strategy of pivoting from America. Pitching Canada as a valuable “middle power,” Mr. Carney had hoped to persuade Europe to ease the burden of American tariffs of up to 50 percent. Mr. Carney, unlike most hit by Mr. Trump’s tariffs, has responded with his own reciprocal levies. He thought Europe would back his stand, although it is not shaping up to be a match at Brussels. The one issue that Mr. Carney and Ms. von der Leyen appear to agree on is Mr. Trump, though he wasn’t named. Ms. von der Leyen tried to insist that this “is not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength.” Hah. That rang hollow. An alliance against America is precisely what is being proposed in response to Mr. Trump’s tariff regime and criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty. As Mr Carney sat watching nearby, Ms. von der Leyen outlined a far-reaching new partnership with Canada that would span tech, defense, military, AI, critical minerals. Ms. von der Leyen also bemoaned the failure of the EU to secure sanctions against Israel. “When Europe is divided, it cannot change the course of events,” she condescended, in words that augur the problems she will face in getting her proposed Canada alliance over the line. Her enthusiasm for the deal was not universally shared. The leader of the left group, Manon Aubry, asked Ms. von der Leyen: “Who has given you a democratic mandate to do that?” It was no better behind closed doors. Mr. Carney’s charm offensive got a cool reception by leaders wary of giving Canada preferential access to Europe’s single market. Some worried, per the Financial Times, over how Mr. Trump might react to closer EU ties with Canada.Full ratification of Ms. von der Leyen’s proposed deal is likely to prove problematic. The EU has yet to agree to Canada’s free trade deal of 2017. It has been held up by France and Italy because it would give Canadian investors more rights to sue governments and would lower tariffs for agricultural goods. Both countries have elections next year and are unlikely to agree a deal with Canada that involves even closer integration.So the big problem for the EU is the blasted voters. Why would they want Canada? The EU accounts for less than 6 percent of Canadian goods exports. Turning that trickle into a torrent would be difficult. Canada has different regulatory standards, like, say, using growth hormones, banned by the EU, in beef. The certain winners of the deal would be Ms. von der Leyen’s colleagues in the EU bureaucracy charged with building a vast regulatory structure. Which brings us back to Mr. Carney. Ms. von der Leyen mooted a rival to NATO that would include Canada, Ukraine, and Great Britain. The new council would have a protocol modelled on the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 5, in which an attack on one is an attack on all. Yet if member countries can’t agree on admitting Canada could they really agree to go to war in defense of one another? All they agree on at the moment is Mr. Trump.

Carney Discovers the Limits of His Charm in Europe

Carney Discovers the Limits of His Charm in Europe

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