EU-Canada summit, Brussels, 30 October 2016

Main results

On 30 October 2016, EU leaders and the Canadian Prime Minister met in Brussels for the 16th EU-Canada summit.

Donald Tusk, President of the European Council,  Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia holding the Council rotating presidency, and  Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada signed the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) at the summit.

CETA is the most comprehensive and progressive trade agreement between the EU and Canada. It removes over 99% of tariffs that currently hinder trade between the EU and Canada. It is expected to increase bilateral trade by €12 billion per year, and to generate growth and new jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

• Comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada
• Annexes to the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada
• Strategic partnership agreement between the EU and Canada
• EU-Canada Strategic Partnership Agreement factsheet

The leaders also signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA).  The SPA deepens cooperation between the EU and Canada in fields such as foreign policy, crisis management, security and defence, energy and climate, enhanced mobility and people-to-people exchanges.

They also adopted a joint declaration on the EU-Canada partnership. 

• 16th EU-Canada summit - Joint declaration

 In the joint declaration the leaders committed to strengthening international cooperation between the EU and Canada and in various international fora and on several issues:

Ukraine

Particularly, they condemned the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. They emphasised their commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on all parties to implement the Minsk Agreement.

Syria

Leaders called for cessation of hostilities and efforts to find a political solution. They reiterated their support for the work of the UN special envoy de Mistura in his efforts to prepare the ground for the resumption of intra-Syria talks.

Migration and refugees

EU and Canada underlined the need for global burden-sharing in addressing the migration and refugee crisis. Both parties will reinforce their cooperation in this area. The EU welcomed Canada's efforts in resettling Syrian refugees.

• Finding solutions to migratory pressures (background information)

One of the outcomes of the summit was lifting visa requirements to all EU citizens including the decision by Canada to lift the requirements for all Bulgarian and Romanian citizens in late 2017.