The EU plays an important role in setting the direction of energy policy, particularly in the competition, environment and security areas. The EU is currently formulating legislative packages on climate change and competitiveness, which will form the basis for its future energy policy. In 2007, the EU committed itself to a set of ambitious climate change targets by 2020.

At the same time Canada’s energy policy is based on the principles of allowing competitive markets to determine supply, demand, prices and trade, and making targeted interventions to achieve policy objectives that the market cannot meet on its own. In Canada, the direct ownership, management and regulation of most natural resources, including energy, fall under provincial jurisdiction. Issues

of inter-provincial, national or international concern (such as offshore oil and gas exploration,

uranium exploration, nuclear power and science and technology) fall under the jurisdiction of the

federal government.

Canada and EU Member States enjoy a number of important bilateral, commercial energy

relationships. The UK, for example, is a major supplier of Canada’s oil imports, a market for

Canada’s exports of uranium (as is France), energy services and equipment, and both a source of

inward investment in Canada’s energy industry and a destination for Canadian investment

abroad. Companies in other Member States such as France and Germany are also investors in

Canadian markets, and are either partners or competitors in a range of energy industries,

including nuclear and renewable energy.

Commercial energy relations between EU Member States and Canada are based on a long history

of close economic and political cooperation, common political and economic institutions, and are

driven overwhelmingly by market-based actors. The international framework established by the

World Trade Organisation (WTO) helps provide for effective markets in energy goods and

services between the EU and Canada through international trade provisions.

The EU and Canada face mutual energy challenges, including energy security and the interaction

of energy and climate change. They therefore have important mutual interests in discussions

about the responses to these challenges. EU and Canadian Leaders recognised these interests at

their Berlin Summit in June 2007, acknowledging that tackling climate change and ensuring

clean, secure and affordable supplies of energy were central, interlinked global challenges. As a

result, agreement was reached at the Summit to create an EU-Canada High-Level Dialogue on

Energy, intended to build further on the excellent existing active contacts in the International

Energy Agency (IEA) and the G8.

This High-Level Dialogue on Energy announced in Berlin is the first formal mechanism for

energy discussions between the EU and Canada. Senior officials representing the EU and Canada

will meet annually to discuss issues of mutual interest, including domestic and global energy

policy developments, energy security, energy efficiency, cooperation with third countries (with a

specific focus on developing countries) and renewable energy. Opportunities for collaboration in

energy science and technology will be an important element of the initial discussions. The

Dialogue will also take into account the strategic elements on climate change being developed in

the existing High-Level Dialogue on Environment (discussed below). The High-Level Dialogue

on Energy will report on its discussions to Leaders at future Summits.

There is a long-standing relationship between the EU and Canada in the area of nuclear energy.

Canada is the leading supplier of natural uranium to the EU for electricity generation. The

Euratom-Canada Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, which

entered into force on 18 November 1959, is the oldest bilateral agreement between the EU and

Canada. Over its lifetime, the agreement has been amended four times via exchanges of letters,

and supplemented in 1998 by a further agreement in the field of nuclear research. The EU and

Canada also participate in the Generation IV International Forum, which is a multinational research initiative to develop the next generation of nuclear energy systems to provide competitively-priced and reliable energy in a safe and sustainable way.

Cooperation on energy science and technology is an important element in overall EU-Canada

energy relations. These activities will be in line with the EU-Canada Agreement for Scientific

and Technical Cooperation which entered into force in 1996. The Agreement established a

formal basis for research cooperation, enabling Canadians and Europeans to participate in one

another’s research programmes. Cooperation occurs on a self-funded basis (where Canadians are

supported by Canadian funds and Europeans through European programmes). The Agreement is

overseen by the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee.

The EU and Canada are both significant actors in the global energy scene and have a strong

trade and investment relationship in the sector now and with the new CETA deal.