Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, concluded a productive visit in Brussels, Belgium, to reiterate Canada's commitment to shared economic prosperity and strengthened collaboration on both sides of the Atlantic. Throughout this visit, Minister Champagne solidified Canada's strengths as a key partner in transatlantic trade, security, innovation, and defence, while reinforcing a shared commitment to global economic prosperity.
In a historic first for a Canadian Finance Minister, Minister Champagne participated in a session on global imbalances during a meeting of the Eurogroup. He called for a shared diagnosis among partners, and coordinated policy actions to promote orderly rebalancing and minimize geo-economic risks. The Minister underscored the importance of advancing this work through the G7 and G20, and stressed that Canada and its European partners must work collectively to support a gradual and well-calibrated adjustment process that reinforces global resilience against shifting economic currents.
The Minister also held bilateral meetings with European leaders, including Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis, as well as the ministers of Finance and Economy of the European Union (EU), France, Spain, Luxembourg, Romania, Estonia, Netherlands and Poland. During a meeting with Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Gilles Roth, the Minister launched the Canada-Luxembourg Financial Sector Policy Dialogue to deepen cooperation on financial stability and regulatory innovation.
In addition, Minister Champagne met with business leaders to discuss financial services opportunities between Canada and Europe and the importance of stable rules-based trade, while promoting Canada as a prime destination for global investment.
While in Brussels, Minister Champagne continued engaging his counterparts on the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB)-a new multilateral institution focused on financing defence, security and resilience projects for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and allied nations. The Minister also highlighted how Canada's world-class industrial base and skilled workforce are uniquely positioned to support the evolving security and technology needs of our transatlantic partners.
