Western Standard - September 22, 2026


Europe wants Canadian LNG and oil — and may help pay for it

Mentioned
Mark Carney Richard Collison Angela Merkel Erasmus Plus Schengen Putin Trump
Danielle Smith fights back tears as she makes the case for Alberta to remain in Canada

Episode Stats


Length

23 minutes

Words per minute

130.04

Word count

3,100

Sentence count

123

Harmful content

Hate speech

4

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Latvia and Baltic countries, we already are absolutely independent from Russian fossil fuel.
00:00:07.680 Nor gas, nor fuel, oil, even electricity.
00:00:13.320 We have cut off those relationships.
00:00:15.660 When it comes to gas, I was the shadow rapporteur for phasing out Russian gas regulation.
00:00:22.660 that has been approved, and it will take force in full effect starting 2027 autumn,
00:00:30.700 which means not a single cubic meter of Russian gas will enter the European market.
00:00:36.800 So therefore, of course, we are seeking our trusted partners that we can rely upon
00:00:42.580 on supplying gas that is very much needed to the European market.
00:00:51.520 We see what happens in Horvath Strait.
00:00:54.280 I think Europe is even ready to take part with its own investments, helping you to build
00:01:01.980 these infrastructures within Canada so you can, as soon as possible, actually start to
00:01:07.300 export both gas and oil to Europe.
00:01:12.400 We absolutely are in favor of that.
00:01:21.520 I will attend for the Western Standard here in Ottawa.
00:01:26.700 I just wrapped up an interview with a Latvian member of the European Parliament, Richard Coles, who spoke to me in Ottawa.
00:01:33.840 Now, he's in Ottawa because he's on the delegation to speak to Canadian members of Parliament on EU-Canada ties, Ukraine, and a number of other European issues within Canadian interests as well.
00:01:46.740 But we sat down and we discussed the prospect promoted by Prime Minister Mark Carney and the head of the European Union about a potential associated membership.
00:01:56.480 Now, we don't know what that would look like because we don't have any terms or any history to go off that terminology.
00:02:01.840 However, we discussed some of the hypotheticals, the ongoing ties, the already agreed CETA agreement between Canada and the majority of the European nation states.
00:02:11.540 And, of course, we discussed the liquid natural gas potential of expansion coming into Europe from Canada
00:02:18.180 and other further economic potentials that have yet to be realized.
00:02:22.420 Here's more of our discussion from later today.
00:02:25.700 Starting off, so Prime Minister Mark Carney has directed Canada in a posture of reaching a close relationship with the European Union.
00:02:32.980 We don't know what that will look like yet with this new suggestion of a new kind of partnership, 0.95
00:02:40.860 not full membership but associate membership first of all you're coming from latvia can you
00:02:45.820 explain to the canadian audience what this kind of relationship could entail with europe and what
00:02:51.100 exactly european membership means in the union okay i think the devil is in the details both
00:02:57.340 what they found the line the president of the european commission mentioned during their her
00:03:03.260 state of union address yes mentioning this term associated member state obviously that was a
00:03:13.580 rather surprise for i think all the the present meps in the european parliament because in all
00:03:21.020 honesty there is no such a legal framework within the eu treaties and you know eu functions based
00:03:30.460 on the treaties um so therefore there's a lot of questions so what she meant by mentioning
00:03:38.300 associated member state that's well we'll see in the future the at the end of october there's a
00:03:46.860 canada eu summit and i think a lot of can uh details can come out of that summit as well
00:03:52.860 and two days later as you mentioned prime minister karni mentioned and he already
00:03:57.260 toned down the term associated member states, more speaking on deepening the
00:04:06.620 ties with the EU across the fronts on the cooperation on raw materials,
00:04:13.340 cooperation on technology, energy, renewable energy, and so on. So I think
00:04:19.640 it's still going to be a work in progress to determine the future in-depth
00:04:24.920 cooperation but bottom line is Europeans are in favor of enhancing partnership
00:04:31.960 with Canada it is a like-minded values-based partner which matters
00:04:38.440 these days in the world not many are like-minded and values-based partners
00:04:44.860 and those partnerships we need to explore and see where more we can
00:04:50.600 incorporate to be more self-sufficient, not dependent on third parties, on critical areas,
00:05:01.360 as I mentioned beforehand.
00:05:03.900 So I would say that's why I'm here actually in Ottawa today, and following three days
00:05:14.220 I will meet my counterparts in the Canadian Parliament to hear what they think of this
00:05:21.980 proposal, this kind of approach, how they interpret what Mr. Carney mentioned and what
00:05:28.460 also von der Leyen mentioned, and then we can already start to work on specifics, on
00:05:34.460 directions.
00:05:35.460 And I would say the proof that the partnership is an ongoing process with no expiry date
00:05:43.620 is that just recently, Canada became an associated country
00:05:48.620 when it comes to Horizon, so participating in research
00:05:52.080 and development together with EU member states
00:05:54.500 as an equal partner.
00:05:56.960 Also, Canada is the only non-EU country
00:06:00.920 that is participating in SAFE initiative,
00:06:03.340 that is building up a defense industry.
00:06:08.240 And there's also work in progress in exploring avenues
00:06:12.580 on adding Canada to Erasmus Plus program, which is very good.
00:06:19.220 Erasmus Plus is the most popular EU fund program
00:06:24.260 within the EU among the member states
00:06:27.420 because it's effective, the exchange of students experience.
00:06:31.620 And that is always people-to-people relations.
00:06:34.840 That is the basis on any partnerships
00:06:37.140 when it comes to state-to-state later on.
00:06:39.640 So you're coming from Latvia and you're representing your country.
00:06:43.360 What does the European Union mean to your country in terms of sovereignty?
00:06:47.580 What kind of sacrifices or delegations do you have to make up for responsibilities as a state
00:06:54.780 in order to be a full-fledged member of the European Union?
00:06:58.300 I wouldn't say sacrifices.
00:07:00.000 I think prior to the accession, the reforms we conducted,
00:07:04.400 We became a country with better rule of law, with better governance as well.
00:07:10.340 The EU standards are, I would say, of high level.
00:07:15.000 That improves the living conditions of people as well.
00:07:20.960 And it wasn't like we were undergoing these reforms with, you know, teeth together and, oh, this is a paper.
00:07:31.380 we embraced because we knew that that benefits how our country functions.
00:07:36.520 But when it comes to EU as a whole, it is still a union of sovereign countries, that
00:07:45.880 relationships with each other are not from top down, but it's agreed to the EU treaties
00:07:53.820 where we have agreed what are our joint competences, what is the member state's exclusive competence,
00:08:01.380 where let's say Brussels or whatever whoever else cannot dictate I could
00:08:07.300 mention the tax policy education which is important you know the substance what
00:08:14.000 we teach in schools how we teach and so on this no other you members that has a
00:08:18.360 saying in what schools in Latvia where we teach our children then there is as I
00:08:25.220 mentioned shared competencies because we have a single market we have Schengen
00:08:29.460 it's one valued territory as well the free movement so over there when it
00:08:36.240 comes to shared competence I can mention the migration it's not imposed we have
00:08:43.780 the common system when it comes to border control and let's say the the
00:08:49.920 verification of documents visa standards and so on but the competence who enters
00:08:56.560 our country who we allow from the third country nationals it still is the
00:09:02.060 competence of the member state and then we have the common policies and over
00:09:08.880 there I could mention the areas it's the foreign policy trade policy defense and
00:09:15.700 security policy that is a common and and I think it's a benefit for Latvia that
00:09:21.680 As a small country, we can formulate the whole EU bloc's foreign policy.
00:09:29.140 So we have the saying as well.
00:09:30.600 As I mentioned, the common policies, the decisions are made by consensus, which means everyone needs to agree.
00:09:37.260 It's not like the majority can enforce on others.
00:09:41.720 That will be your future foreign policy.
00:09:44.740 So that is a joint effort.
00:09:47.040 And therefore, we have a saying in formulating the Europe's foreign policy as well.
00:09:53.820 When it comes to trade, I wouldn't imagine the possibility to negotiate a very beneficial
00:10:05.160 deal to Latvia, let's say, with Canada on bilateral levels.
00:10:09.280 Obviously, I mean, your economic power and weight is 10 times more or 100 times more
00:10:16.820 than Latvia's, but when Europe negotiates as one single entity, then we have good prospects
00:10:26.500 both for our businesses, for our business people, and now for trade potential.
00:10:32.760 So specifically, what is motivating this shift to the European Union wanting to have closer
00:10:38.140 ties from Canada is the next-door neighbor and the uncertain relationship around trade.
00:10:45.240 have been, of course, leveled against Europe previously, against Canada and a number of
00:10:50.140 other traditional trading partners.
00:10:51.880 But for Canada, the importance of the United States is uncomparable to any other nation
00:10:56.320 in terms of economic strength and collaboration.
00:10:59.400 So understanding that Canada's political appetite comes from a time of uncertainty,
00:11:04.360 given what's happening in the last couple of years, do you think that Europe has the
00:11:10.060 capacity to really help Canada overhaul its trading agenda in terms of the percentages
00:11:16.000 and the overall market share that European products, imports, and exports can account
00:11:21.020 for? How important is that market, do you think, for Canadian interests?
00:11:23.980 I think there's really a great potential. Even right now with the framework that we
00:11:32.240 have under CETA, the Canada-Europe trade agreement, 10 years have passed. Unfortunately, I have
00:11:39.660 to say there are still 10 member states who haven't ratified for whatever reasons.
00:11:45.320 By the way, Latvia was the first EU member state to ratify the CETA agreement.
00:11:50.780 And what – if we look, just assess nine years of this provisional agreement that has
00:11:55.820 been applied, what it has contributed?
00:11:58.900 Our trade balance on both directions has doubled from 100 billion to 200 billion in a span
00:12:07.440 of nine years.
00:12:08.700 Show me any country where, let's say, I would exaggerate, but let's say, can double their
00:12:16.940 GDP in nine years' time.
00:12:21.160 It's kind of mission impossible, right?
00:12:22.740 So that shows that even provisionally applied trade agreement gives great potential and
00:12:30.300 the prospects.
00:12:32.020 And the key element these days is diversification.
00:12:37.000 Here I may be going to narrow down my example, not talking about EU as a whole, but I will
00:12:42.800 speak about Latvia.
00:12:46.880 We were, for years, dependent on the Russian market.
00:12:54.120 Russia was really a big trading partner.
00:12:57.620 We were dependent on fossil fuels, gas, oil.
00:13:02.020 We understand what is the cost of this dependency, because obviously that was exploited.
00:13:07.000 Russia knew that we are economically dependent with the trade relations with the fossils,
00:13:13.920 and they could exert different pressures on us, different forms and so on.
00:13:20.500 And since, I would say, Russia revealing under Putin's rule its true nature and its intentions,
00:13:31.020 we understood that that's it.
00:13:32.100 We have to cut off those toxic ties that will be further more and more exploited, and we
00:13:37.520 have to diversify.
00:13:39.320 And diversification was obviously looking for new export markets, and that was instrumental
00:13:46.540 for us being part of the EU to manage to do that, to trade arrangements.
00:13:52.860 And I think with Canada as well, European Union is half a billion consumer market.
00:14:01.980 You mentioned the U.S. U.S. is 350 million.
00:14:06.400 We're 150 million more consumers.
00:14:09.620 So that is the question of how we can establish a proper logistics and supply chains,
00:14:17.040 chains of value as well,
00:14:20.180 and build the cooperation not just on the kind of blank trade,
00:14:26.400 you know, selling goods or services,
00:14:28.920 But building partnerships, joint ventures, and that is just going to be – my calculations would say that is beneficial for Canada, as you rightly mentioned.
00:14:41.460 The dependency on U.S. where you have more than 60 percent trade with one partner, that is a risk which at some point can be exploited by different means.
00:14:55.580 Well, right now we're in the Trump administration, and it's very evident.
00:15:00.700 So I think it's a smart decision to start to look for reliable partners.
00:15:07.960 That is the key to this whole exercise, as I might call it, and I think the EU has proven
00:15:18.020 to Canada that we are a reliable partner, that we honor the agreements that we sign
00:15:24.020 up to, and we very much apply reciprocity in these relationships.
00:15:30.740 So now, of course, between now and the end of October, when the EU-Canada event will
00:15:36.640 conclude, we have a number of things that could come out in terms of details of what
00:15:42.020 that relationship could eventually look like.
00:15:44.680 But for now, Canada's main political opposition, the Conservatives, have highlighted one particular
00:15:49.080 concerned very often in the last couple of days, which was the concern around European
00:15:53.760 migration tax, something that has driven tremendous pressure and, frankly, political momentum towards
00:16:00.440 the right in Europe, trying to combat the situation around immigration, unchecked levels
00:16:06.500 of refugee asylum claimants, especially for those states that took in a high percentage
00:16:12.060 of refugees in the 2015-2016 cycle when Syria, of course, was under civil war and other international
00:16:18.940 migrant crises were happening in Africa and in Asia.
00:16:22.600 So given that context here and what the concerns are pointing towards, how would you kind of
00:16:29.240 respond or address those concerns from your perspective?
00:16:33.140 Should Canada be worried on signing on to any relationship that could implicate our country
00:16:39.900 in a shared European migrant collaboration mechanism?
00:16:45.900 Well, I don't think it's just, like, flat-out migration in relation to those
00:16:56.320 who have illegally or in other ways entered Europe.
00:17:00.200 Europe is changing its policy on migration, especially when it comes to irregular migration.
00:17:09.360 I don't like to use irregular.
00:17:10.900 invention not to talk about a true essence that is at the center of
00:17:17.680 discussion, illegal migration, illegal entrance. Those migrants who have entered
00:17:24.420 Europe, maybe legally, but they have abused their stay. They have no legal 1.00
00:17:30.160 rights anymore to remain. And you can see we are stepping up on those areas.
00:17:35.020 I think, yes, there was somewhat sleepwalking in that direction or wishful thinking applied.
00:17:43.480 Everyone recalls the infamous words of Angela Merkel, everyone is welcome.
00:17:48.780 And what followed, the influx. 0.71
00:17:51.100 I'm not talking about war refugees.
00:17:53.420 There were economic migrants and whatnot.
00:17:56.620 We didn't have the capacity to register.
00:17:59.260 Maybe it's not the case of Latvia where we experienced that,
00:18:02.280 But Southern Europe absolutely was affected, and we can see the consequences right now
00:18:09.240 when the governments are stepping up.
00:18:11.240 We just passed the return regulation.
00:18:15.440 That was really a landmark point to show that so far the policies that we had in place on
00:18:22.860 migration, there's a U-turn.
00:18:25.860 We're taking our measures stronger right now. 0.80
00:18:28.800 There will be voluntary deportations, but also those who are not willingly leaving, being deported from Europe.
00:18:39.960 We are setting up partnerships with the third countries to set up migration hubs outside of the EU,
00:18:46.760 so to assess the asylum applications before asylum seeker actually enters Europe.
00:18:55.000 So there is a lot of filters right now being put in place, and of course it won't show immediate effect, but it's already taking place.
00:19:03.400 So with Canada, I wouldn't say that that should be a concern.
00:19:06.880 Our concern is actually skilled labor.
00:19:09.880 That is a shortage, and that is something where if we can have a mutual beneficial, let's say, working visa regime,
00:19:21.700 a free regime between Canada and Europe.
00:19:25.220 It's just beneficial for our industries altogether.
00:19:28.300 And it's still, if that's in place, Canada,
00:19:32.480 we're not talking about Canada entering Schengen zone.
00:19:36.920 I don't see it actually feasibly happening.
00:19:41.920 And so therefore you still have a saying on who enters,
00:19:46.440 on what grounds Canada, and how long stays, and so on.
00:19:49.800 So I think that is something that maybe someone puts it as a boogeyman, threatening.
00:19:58.560 And again, it's true agreements, and it's not even, as I mentioned in the beginning,
00:20:05.140 the associated member state, that is something that doesn't exist in the treaties.
00:20:11.500 If something like that could be introduced, that means new EU treaty.
00:20:19.600 Opening current treaties, we've been debating that for the past decade when it comes to
00:20:24.860 EU enlargement, because if there's EU enlargement happening towards the Western Balkan countries
00:20:31.900 or Moldova or Ukraine, it definitely means new EU treaty.
00:20:38.520 And only then, that might be the point where we can actually define what the associated
00:20:43.920 member state entitles to and what are the – if that is applied, what are the duties,
00:20:51.760 responsibilities, the mutual kind of requirements for that point.
00:20:56.240 So this is – we're not even close to that point.
00:21:00.340 But where we are close is obviously my call is still for those 10 EU member states to
00:21:06.680 finally ratify the CETA agreement, then we can generally speak with our Canadian counterparts
00:21:15.440 on deepening, let's say, call it CETA plus and so on, on other areas where we can deepen
00:21:21.320 our cooperation.
00:21:22.320 Now, off camera, we spoke that you've been out west before, you've been to British
00:21:26.500 Columbia, you understand a little bit of the geography out there.
00:21:30.500 Going into Alberta, one of our provinces and the most oil-rich, resource-rich province
00:21:35.240 in the country that drives our economy, we're looking at the discussions around national
00:21:39.960 interest projects, including a pipeline to the west, the Pacific coast, and also a pipeline
00:21:44.680 that goes east-west that can open up potential Atlantic ports in the future.
00:21:49.120 Should that happen, and of course I've already had this conversation with other European
00:21:52.140 officials, including the Chancellor of Germany last year at COP30, I just want to get your
00:21:56.660 sense if Canada enables its ability to export LNG to Europe fast through its
00:22:04.560 Atlantic ports, does Latvia and other countries of similar size nature stand
00:22:09.140 to benefit from greater energy independence away from Russia and of
00:22:12.920 course both economies? Absolutely. Latvia and Baltic countries we already are
00:22:21.380 absolutely independent from Russian fossil fuel, nor gas, nor fuel, oil, even
00:22:29.260 electricity. We have cut off those relationships. When it comes to gas, I was
00:22:34.820 the shadow rapporteur for phasing out Russian gas regulation that has been
00:22:40.460 approved and it will take force in the full effect starting 2027 autumn, which
00:22:47.860 which means not a single cubic meter of Russian gas will enter the European market.
00:22:53.900 So therefore, of course, we are seeking trusted partners that we can rely upon on supplying
00:23:04.680 gas that is very much needed to the European market.
00:23:08.720 We see what happens in the harvest trade as well, what the dependencies even of someone
00:23:16.800 saying, you know, Qatar and so on are trusted partners, but it seems those supply chains
00:23:24.360 are not, kind of say, very secure.
00:23:28.740 So therefore, I think Europe is even ready to take part with its own investments, helping
00:23:37.060 you to build these infrastructures within Canada so you can, as soon as possible, actually
00:23:43.080 start to export both gas and oil to Europe, we absolutely are in favor of that.