OTTAWA — European countries are prepared to invest in the Canadian infrastructure needed to export oil and liquefied natural gas across the Atlantic, Latvian member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols says.Kols told the Western Standard on Monday that Canada could help replace Russian gas while reducing Europe’s exposure to increasingly unreliable energy routes. He also cautioned that the proposed “associate membership” between Canada and the European Union does not currently exist in EU law and remains largely undefined.“Europe is even ready to take part with its own investments, helping you to build this infrastructure within Canada so you can, as soon as possible, actually start to export both gas and oil to Europe,” Kols said.“We absolutely are in favour of that.”Kols represents Latvia’s National Alliance in the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. He sits on the European Parliament’s foreign affairs, international trade, and industry, research and energy committees.He said Latvia and the other Baltic countries have already ended their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, while the wider EU is phasing out remaining Russian supplies. Russian LNG imports are scheduled to end at the beginning of 2027, followed by a ban on pipeline gas beginning in the fall.“We understand what is the cost of this dependency because, obviously, that was exploited,” Kols said of Latvia’s former reliance on Russian energy.“Russia knew that we were economically dependent—with the trade relations, with the fossil fuels—and they could exert different pressures on us.”.Europe must now find reliable suppliers as it abandons Russian gas and confronts instability affecting other energy routes, Kols said.“We are seeking trusted partners that we can rely upon on supplying gas that is very much needed in the European market,” he said.Prime Minister Mark Carney recently told the European Parliament that Canada could provide LNG and hydrogen to Europe through new port and energy infrastructure in Atlantic Canada and the North.Canadian LNG projects have also signed long-term agreements with German energy companies, although most proposed export capacity remains on the Pacific coast.Kols said closer Canada-EU relations could extend beyond buying and selling finished products to joint ventures, infrastructure and integrated supply chains.“The key element these days is diversification,” he said.Canada and the EU are expected to provide further details about their proposed partnership at a summit in Montreal on October 29 and 30.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested that Canada could become the EU’s first “associate member.” Carney has since emphasized that Canada is seeking a unique alliance rather than full membership.Kols said the phrase surprised members of the European Parliament because no such status presently exists.“The devil is in the details,” he said. “There is no such legal framework within the EU treaties, and the EU functions based on the treaties.”Creating formal associate membership could require reopening the EU treaties and obtaining agreement from all 27 member countries. Kols said the immediate objective should instead be practical co-operation through existing programs.Canada has already joined the EU’s Horizon Europe research program and reached an agreement allowing Canadian participation in the bloc’s Security Action for Europe defence-procurement initiative.Kols said discussions are also underway about potentially adding Canada to Erasmus+, the EU’s education and student-exchange program.Trade between Canada and the EU in goods and services reached approximately €130 billion in 2025, an increase of about 80% from 2016, according to European Commission figures.Kols also rejected suggestions that a closer partnership would automatically bind Canada to the EU’s migration system.“We’re not talking about Canada entering the Schengen zone,” he said. “I don’t see it actually feasibly happening.”“You still have a say on who enters, on what grounds they enter Canada and how long they stay.”Kols described warnings that Canada would be compelled to accept European migration policies as a “boogeyman,” arguing any labour-mobility arrangement would have to be negotiated and approved by both sides.He said the more realistic possibility is an agreement making it easier for Canadian and European skilled workers to work temporarily on either side of the Atlantic.For Kols, the emerging partnership is driven less by formal membership than by Canada and Europe’s shared need to reduce dangerous economic dependencies.“It’s a smart decision to start to look for reliable partners,” he said. “The EU has proven to Canada that we are a reliable partner—that we honour the agreements we sign up to.”
