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Canada–EU and Europe Relations

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The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs

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Abstract

Canada and the EU have signed and ratified numerous international agreements, both sectoral and framework agreements. Currently two important framework agreements are under review for ratification: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA). These formal agreements are an important stepping stone to firm up the Canada-EU relationship. This particular relationship had become more important as both sides tried to diversity away from being overly reliant on the US. With the global changes since 2016, following the Brexit referendum and the election of President Donald Trump, both Canada and the EU are keener than before to deepen their mutual relationship. Post-Brexit opportunities arise for Canada and the UK to develop their own relationship. However, the Covid-19 crisis is providing a bit of a challenge to existing trade agreements and may challenge assumptions on which the global liberal world order has been built.

This chapter draws on Verdun (2019) and Verdun (2021).

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Verdun, A. (2021). Canada–EU and Europe Relations. In: Murray, R.W., Gecelovsky, P. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67770-1_30

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