European Commission vice-president Roxana Mînzatu is in Montreal, where Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney announced on Friday the start of negotiations that could associate Canada with the Erasmus+ programme.
Mînzatu wrote on Facebook that she looks forward to representing the European Union in the negotiations with Canadian partners. She said that once the talks are successfully concluded and the necessary procedures are completed, Canada would become the first state outside Europe associated with the programme. According to the Commission vice-president, the association would open new opportunities for study, training and cooperation, including for young people from Romania.
The announcement was made at the EU-Canada summit in Montreal, which is also attended by European Council president Antonio Costa. European leaders and the Canadian prime minister are due to launch an initiative called the Alliance for the Future.
Talks on bringing Canada closer to the European Union are taking place against disagreements among member states. According to POLITICO, several countries refused to approve a declaration that explicitly granted Canada the status of associated member, only 48 hours before the Montreal summit.
In September, in the State of the Union address, Ursula von der Leyen proposed creating a form of associated membership of the European Union, with Canada set to be the first state that could be offered that status. In response, Mark Carney welcomed the proposal that Ottawa become the first associated member of the EU. He described the current international context as a geopolitical rupture and warned that economic integration, supply chains, financial systems and technology are increasingly being used as instruments of pressure between states.