Thread

EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

693 points · 905 comments · hackernj

neom · 1789557380 · focus · HN ↗
No idea what this actually means, if it means easier trade, I'm all for anything that reduces our dependency on the yanks, as long as we don't need to be involved in their regulatory or legal regimes. The Americans are no longer our friends, Salut, mes amis Européens. :)
1. FabCH · 1789557897 · focus · HN ↗
  Carney was asking for freedom of movement of goods, people and services, but without full monetary and legislative integration.
  So, easier to sell stuff, easier to buy stuff, free to just travel to/from Canada/EU and work there with no extra paperwork, free to buy and sell service from Canada to EU and vice versa.
  No Euro, no vote in EU, no ECJ, no payments into each others budget.
  Tighter integration than UK, not as tight as Norway/Switzerland/Iceland.
  Common defense was already agreed anyhow.
  I can tell you this enjoys broad support in the EU public. Although, no joke, a lot of peoples first reaction is: "They need to compete in Eurovision first. Otherwise they should wait for Australia to join first."
  1. paganel · 1789558330 · focus · HN ↗
    > and legislative integration
    Does Canada's agricultural output follow EU's (quite strict) norms? Not sure if this falls under "legislative integration" but I'd say that it would be quite important to have settled. The same goes when it comes to Canada's work-related laws.
    throw0101c · 1789558577 · focus · HN ↗
    > Does Canada's agricultural output follow EU's (quite strict) norms?
    Which output specifically? To take one example, the Dijon mustard coming out of France is mostly from Canadian mustard seeds:
    * <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dijon_mustard#2022_shortage_in_France" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dijon_mustard#2022_shortage_in...
    b112 · 1789562429 · focus · HN ↗
    I want to know the person who grows the celery seeds.
    I bought a box 37 years ago, a tiny little box, and I've been using it to season soups, almost weekly that whole time.
    There can't be more than one guy that grows those seeds, for the entire planet! So my questions are, first who is this guy, and second is the in the EU?
    Also, has anybody else noticed this?
    noir_lord · 1789559239 · focus · HN ↗
    It's not an insurmountable problem if they don't have compatibility on standards
    It'll just take time to reach an agreement both sides can accept and it's in some ways simpler than something like the EU-Mercosur agreement since one "side" is a unified country rather that been two trading bloc's negotiating.
    It's fascinating watching the world re-align so quickly (by diplomatic/negotiation standards).
    justincormack · 1789560308 · focus · HN ↗
    EU signed a free trade agreement with Canada but its never been ratified
    rsynnott · 1789571105 · focus · HN ↗
    It's provisionally in force, though (fairly standard for EU trade agreements, which take _forever_ to fully ratify).
    embedding-shape · 1789560914 · focus · HN ↗
    > Does Canada's agricultural output follow EU's (quite strict) norms?
    It might not be as strict anymore, as the EU-Mercosur Agreement seemingly ended up relaxing a bit on the strict norms and regulations. Many farmers were/are protesting this agreement exactly because the farmers in South America would compete against local farmers who are more strictly regulated.
    So, seems we're a bit flexible on that front, when push comes to shove :)
    Sharlin · 1789561439 · focus · HN ↗
    It has become pretty clear that even the mainstream right wingers of the EU appear to be ready and willing to drop or loosen all kinds of annoying ethical, environmental, and consumer protection regulations at a moment's notice if it helps large corporations make more money.
    rsynnott · 1789567991 · focus · HN ↗
    "Single market (but food treated specially)" wouldn't be unprecedented; Switzerland was basically like this for a long time.
    Working Time Directive may be more of a sticking point, though Canada doesn't seem _that_ far away from aligned with it anyway (big difference would be on paid time off, where Canada's way under the minimum).
    bryanlarsen · 1789570273 · focus · HN ↗
    AFAICT many EU nations let stat holidays count towards the paid time off allowance. Ontario has 9 stat holidays. 10 paid days off guaranteed + 9 stat holidays is pretty close to the 20 required by Europe's paid time off guarantees.
    rsynnott · 1789571021 · focus · HN ↗
    Which countries are these? The UK used to have a derogation which allowed them to do this, and Malta has some weird thing, but otherwise I wasn't aware of any exceptions?
    bryanlarsen · 1789572055 · focus · HN ↗
    France too, but since they set their minimum at 30 + May 1st it basically comes out in the wash.
    rsynnott · 1789579318 · focus · HN ↗
    I think that’s a non-issue, then, as the requirement is only four working weeks.

Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.