EU and Canada launch 'Alliance for the future'

On 30 October 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa took part in the EU-Canada Summit hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Montréal.

As announced by President von der Leyen in her 2026 State of the Union speech, the Summit discussed the idea of Canada as an associate member of the EU with closer alignment on policies, programmes and governance. During their Summit, the EU and Canada launched the Alliance for the Future, described by President von der Leyen as a common space for growth, prosperity, resilience and economic security. The Alliance will focus on strategic sectors such as trade and regulatory cooperation; digital, research and communications technologies; critical raw materials and energy; financial services and markets, security and preparedness; as well as 'People-to-people' which aims to expand cooperation under Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.

In the 'Joint Statement: The European Union and Canada building together an Alliance for the future', which was issued after the summit, Canada and the EU agree, amongst others, on regular summits, joint ministerial and cooperation committees "and work to define by the 2027 Canada-EU Summit the concept of an ever-closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself".

With relevance to research and innovation, the joint statement includes the following, amongst other announcements:

In the section 'An Alliance of values':

• 17: "We are welcoming Canada’s participation in the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), which will strengthen connections between our supercomputing resources and pave the way for further integrating our AI innovation ecosystems."

In the section 'Digital, Research and Communications Technologies':

• 23. "Canada and the EU will deepen cooperation in research, innovation and emerging technologies to strengthen economic competitiveness and create new opportunities for Canadians and Europeans. Canada and the EU will work toward Canada's participation in future European research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe, supporting collaborative research, and fostering innovation in areas of shared strategic interest, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, semiconductors, photonics and advanced computing. Particular attention will be given to enabling Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), startups and research institutions to access relevant digital infrastructure, expertise, funding and research opportunities. We will work together to expand Canada’s uptake of existing opportunities under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council, fostering excellence, mutual talent mobility between Canada and the EU and breakthrough discoveries.
• 24. Canada and the EU will advance cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) security and safety, its global governance and sovereignty anchored in international law, free and trusted data flows and digital governance and will promote interoperability of emerging AI models and systems and digital regulatory frameworks. We will support reciprocal access to our respective digital markets, including in the field of cloud and AI services and infrastructure, in line with our respective regulatory frameworks, noting our shared objective of exploring opportunities for collaboration and supporting open markets under our respective frameworks. We will deepen cooperation on the development, interconnection, access and use of advanced AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, including AI Factories and other large-scale AI compute facilities, with particular attention to access for start-ups, SMEs, researchers and public-sector users. We will also coordinate efforts to advance the safety of minors online.

In the section 'People-to-People'

• 41. "Canada and the EU will expand opportunities for Canadians and Europeans to study, work, conduct research and build lasting connections and cultural exchanges across the Atlantic. Canada and the EU will launch negotiations toward deeper participation in Erasmus+, the EU flagship programme for education, training, youth and sport. This will expand opportunities for students, researchers, educators and young people to gain international experience, promote vocational education and training, and build lasting academic and scientific institutional partnerships.

For more information:

EC - press release

Joint Statement: The European Union and Canada building together an Alliance for the future