Carney Wraps Up Security and Trade Talks With European Leaders at Dublin Summit

Prime Minister Mark Carney concluded a series of meetings with European leaders in Dublin on Thursday, where continental security and trade dominated the agenda at the European Political Community summit. For the second time, Canada was the only non-European country represented at the table.

Carney heard directly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the state of negotiations with Russia as the two discussed security with their European counterparts. "Security guarantees are a European responsibility, with Canada, with the United States. So there are tiers for security guarantees," Carney said in French at the start of the summit.

The gathering is an informal meeting of leaders from across Europe that has taken place every six months since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the last session in May in Armenia, Carney and European Union leaders have promoted the idea of making Canada an "associate member" of the EU, a title they have yet to define.

Carney told reporters the summit can help advance his goal of improving affordability and economic opportunities for Canadians through new partnerships with Europe. He said it delivers opportunity for young people, artists and companies, and that closer ties will bring affordability, less red tape, more competition in Canada, more goods, more choice and security.

The prime minister also sat down with his counterparts from Greece and Cyprus, the two European Union countries that have not ratified Canada's decade-old trade deal with the bloc. Both have held back for reasons that include questions about protected origins for cheeses, such as whether Canadian-made products can be sold under the names feta or halloumi.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said after his meeting with Carney that he is committed to getting the agreement ratified. "We are doing whatever is necessary in order to pass the agreement, free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, which is very important for both of us," he said. Christodoulides noted it was the first meeting between a Canadian prime minister and a Cypriot president in 80 years, calling it a reflection of the "pro-European Canadian approach" under Carney's leadership.

Carney spoke briefly with reporters at the start of the day's meetings, though most of the plenary was not broadcast. He is expected to hold a news conference in the coming days. Irish hosts locked down a section of central Dublin for what they described as the city's largest ever gathering of international leaders, with police boats patrolling the River Liffey and a visible security presence across the capital. Schools, newsrooms and an airline reported receiving bomb threats that local authorities said were not credible.

Zelenskyy briefed more than a dozen leaders, including Carney, at a session co-hosted by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The Ukrainian president discussed this week's talks in Abu Dhabi with Russian officials, organized by U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The two Americans were set to arrive in Dublin on Thursday evening to speak with Zelenskyy, after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier in the day.

Carney was scheduled to leave for Asia on Thursday evening. He will attend a summit in the Philippines focused on regional issues, followed by the Francophonie summit in Cambodia. Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, whose minority government was elected on a sovereignist platform, is also expected at the Francophonie gathering and has said he wants to conduct diplomacy on Quebec's behalf rather than leaving it to the prime minister. On the sidelines of the Dublin meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said he looks forward to speaking with all representatives of the Francophonie. "It is not my place to interfere in Canadian affairs, but rather to continue supporting our shared affinities, including our cultural and linguistic ties," he said in French.

Carney also explained his absence from this week's UN Climate Conference in Turkey, known as COP31, saying the leaders' day fell on Nov. 11. "It was more important to be at Remembrance Day to honour the women and men of the Canadian Forces who served our country, who stood for democracy, often in Europe," he said. He added that his environment minister will help advance Canadian interests on electrification at the conference, calling it a major theme of the summit.