Carney says he will go to Germany next week to deepen the links

Prime Minister Mark Carney will soon go to Europe in order to deepen economic and security ties with Germany.

Carney told journalists on Friday that he will meet the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday in Berlin.

“Canada has a good partnership with Germany. It has been built over the years, but it can be much, much better and I am convinced that with this chancellor, and the objective of our government, that it will do it,” he said.

Carney said he “would take up discussions” with Merz in the spring, when the pair met in Rome, then at the top of the G7 in Alberta.

Carney said he would seek to deepen the opportunities of the Canada Commercial Pact with the European Union, the complete economic and commercial agreement (CETA).

“There is a wide range of areas, from critical energy, defense and security minerals, where we intensify our discussions with Germany,” he said.

The Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson, the Minister of Defense David McGuinty and the Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly will accompany Carney during the trip.

The German government announced on Friday the scheduled meeting before Carney’s press conference.

Berlin’s statement said the two leaders should discuss current foreign and economic policy issues.

The European trip comes as attempts to negotiate peace in Ukraine will intensify. The war has increased this week after Peace Talks in Alaska failed to get a cease-fire and Russia launched one of its heaviest bombings against Ukraine for weeks.

Carney has been one of several virtual meetings of the “coalition of wills”, a block of nations, including Canada and Germany, which seeks to strengthen Ukraine in its war with Russia.