Macron Backs Canada as EU Assoc. Member09/21 06:16

   

   TORONTO (AP) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday backed a proposal 
for Canada to become the European Union's first associate member as he and 
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney moved to deepen strategic ties spanning 
space, defense, energy and business.

   The leaders met in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a French territory just off 
Newfoundland's coast where France and Canada are separated by only a few 
kilometers (miles) -- a striking setting for Canada's accelerating turn toward 
Europe as relations with the United States deteriorate.

   "We are very much in favor of that agenda of closer ties with the European 
Union, as an associate member of the Union, as the president said, and as a 
full-fledged member of the European community," Macron said in French while 
standing alongside Carney.

   "Only a few kilometers separate Canada and France at their closest point. 
Our values are even closer," Carney said in French.

   Carney said the countries will task their space agencies and defense 
ministries to develop and share infrastructure, including launch systems and 
ground-based reception facilities. They also agreed to expand cooperation in 
energy, telecommunications, climate resilience and economic development.

   Canada's turn toward Europe

   Macron's endorsement comes days after European Commission President Ursula 
von der Leyen proposed making Canada the EU's first associate member. Carney 
embraced the prospect and has argued that deeper ties with Europe would give 
Canada more alternatives and make it less vulnerable to economic coercion by 
any single country.

   Trump's tariffs, demands for economic concessions and repeated talk of 
making Canada the 51st U.S. state have accelerated that turn toward Europe.

   Trump also recently posted a map on social media draping the U.S. flag 
across all of North America, including Canada and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

   Macron welcomed Carney on Sunday at the airport in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, 
the French territory of about 5,800 people just off Newfoundland's coast.

   France wants Canadian energy

   Macron also said that Sunday's talks are part of broader efforts to help 
France secure oil and gas supplies as the Iran war disrupts global energy 
markets and raises fears of higher prices for fuel and other essentials.

   "Canada is a country with significant resources of critical minerals and 
rare earths. It is also a major oil and natural gas producer," Macron said. 
"What we want to do is conclude agreements to secure more liquefied natural gas 
that can be shipped to Europe's Atlantic coast."

   The leaders discussed aerospace, energy, critical minerals and advanced 
technologies such as quantum computing, satellites and supercomputing, Carney's 
office said in a statement.

   Carney returned to Ottawa later Sunday to meet Norwegian Prime Minister 
Jonas Gahr Store for talks on defense, Arctic security, energy, critical 
minerals and emerging technologies before heading to New York on Monday for the 
U.N. General Assembly.

   At a joint news conference with Store, Carney rejected the idea that deeper 
ties with European allies should be seen as hostile to the United States, 
saying Canada is a better partner when it is "more independent or more 
resilient" and has stronger relationships around the world.

   Greenland puts Arctic sovereignty in f oc us

   Sunday's meeting also follows Trump's announcement of a deal on Greenland 
that would expand the U.S. military presence there while keeping the island 
under Danish control. The agreement followed months of threats by Trump to 
seize the semiautonomous territory of a NATO ally.

   Macron welcomed the agreement Saturday.

   "Danish sovereignty is being respected, international law is being 
respected," he said. "Anything that helps ease tensions is a good thing."