Europe, Canada pull together in Yerevan in Trump’s shadow

YEREVAN – European leaders talked up independence on defence and closer ties with Canada on May 4, as they gathered in Armenia for a summit clouded by US threats to cut military support.

US President Donald Trump loomed large over the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Yerevan, which was attended for the first time by a non-European leader: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“We don’t think that we’re destined to submit to a more transactional, insular and brutal world and gatherings such as these point to a better way forward,” Mr Carney told fellow leaders.

Mr Trump’s go-it-alone policies on trade and defence have pushed Canada and Europe closer together, with both now confronting the economic fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has further strained transatlantic ties.

The Armenia gathering comes days after Washington announced it would pull 5,000 US troops from Germany, whose leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has sparred with Mr Trump over the Middle East conflict.

“We have to step up our military capabilities to be able to defend and protect ourselves,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Yerevan. The bloc needed “more independence” in security matters, she added.

Like Europe, Canada’s economy has been hurt by Mr Trump’s tariffs – but Mr Carney has remained defiant, emerging as something of a figurehead for countries looking to stand up to the Republican leader.

He has urged middle powers to join forces in the face of a new reality defined by great power competition and a “fading” rules-based order.

Moving to diversify away from its southern neighbour, Ottawa has become the first non-European country to join the EU’s defence financing scheme, while seeking to increase cooperation on trade.

“We’re the most European of non-European countries, so there are many ways that we can work together,” Mr Carney told reporters in Yerevan.

“Great to count on friends like Canada!” European Council president Antonio Costa wrote on social media.

A biannual political forum, the EPC was established on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

It was “initially perceived as an anti-Putin club”, but Canada’s participation has given it a new “anti-Trump slant”, said Mr Sebastien Maillard, a special adviser at the Jacques Delors Institute, a think-tank.

‘Stepping up’

Mr Trump’s threats to reduce the US military presence on the continent have reinforced calls for Europe to do more for its own security, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine grinds into a fifth year.

“This summer will be a moment when Putin decides what to do next, expand the war or move to diplomacy, and we must push him towards diplomacy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the gathering, calling for more sanctions on Moscow.

NATO chief Mark Rutte admitted on May 4 that there had “been some disappointment on the US side” over Europe’s reluctance to get behind the Iran war.

But Europeans had heard “the message”, were now providing logistical support to US operations and pre-positioning “key assets close to theatre, for the next phase”, Mr Rutte told reporters.

“Europeans are taking their destiny into their own hands, increasing their defence and security spending, and building their own common solutions,” Mr Macron echoed.

Albania to Britain

The EPC brings together the members of the EU and, this time, 21 other countries, from Albania to Britain.

EPC summits do not normally produce concrete decisions but offer leaders the opportunity to exchange in groups and bilaterally. Most leaders arrived in the Armenian capital for an informal dinner on May 3.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev took part via video link, something an EU official said was “highly significant” and reflected progress in ties with bitter rival Armenia after the signing of a peace deal in 2025.

The gathering is the first of its kind in the Caucasus and comes as Armenia fosters closer links with Europe while seeking to cautiously loosen itself from Russia’s grasp.

It will be followed on May 5 by an EU-Armenia summit with the bloc’s chief officials, Mr Costa and European Commission chief von der Leyen, who described it as a “major milestone” in the country’s rapprochement with Europe.

Relations between Yerevan and its traditional ally Moscow have become strained in recent years, in part because Russian peacekeepers failed to intervene during military conflicts with neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia has formally pursued a strategy of what he calls “diversification”, in which the landlocked country pursues ties with both Russia and the West. AFP