In the run-up to the General Affairs and External Relations Council, Federal Minister Plassnik and several EU Foreign Ministers had an informal meeting with the Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Gordon MacKay. The meeting was an opportunity for a first exchange of views with the newly appointed Canadian Foreign Minister on current issues and the state of relations between the EU and Canada.
Both sides stressed the traditionally close, multi-faceted nature of EU-Canada relations. In multilateral forums in particular, the EU and Canada work together successfully, e.g. in the Human Security Network, in environmental protection and on small arms and light weapons.
“Canada’s willingness to shoulder responsibility internationally even in difficult situations is also exemplified by its impressive leadership role in Afghanistan. Our good working relationship and our common engagement in the reconstruction of Afghanistan directly benefit the Afghan people”, Foreign Minister Plassnik said. She added that there were a number of areas in which the EU expected further progress in its relations with Canada. These included the visa requirement for some new EU Member States and deep-sea fishing in international waters.
Foreign Minister Plassnik congratulated Foreign Minister MacKay on the Canadian Olympic team's successes in Turin. "I hope that both the Austrian and the Canadian team will be as successful at the next Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 as they have been in Turin", she concluded.
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