Global

António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represented the EU at the 21st EU-Canada summit, which took place in Montreal on 29 and 30 October 2026. Prime Minister Mark Carney represented Canada. The summit marked a major milestone in EU-Canada relations, paving the way for an even broader and deeper political partnership. Leaders took stock of progress made since the previous EU-Canada summit and issued a joint statement launching an Alliance for the Future. Building on their longstanding strategic partnership, the alliance aims to deepen cooperation and create a common prosperity and economic security space. This is a moment to act with clarity and ambition. By aligning more closely – economically, technologically and strategically – Canada and the EU are building an Alliance for the Future based on trust and shared values that meets the scale of today's challenges and opportunities and will reinforce the freedom, prosperity and safety our citizens expect and deserve. We are stronger together. Building on their existing Strategic Partnership Agreement, the EU and Canada will deepen political engagement and coordination on shared priorities. Leaders welcomed the increasingly frequent exchanges with Canadian ministers at relevant Council and ministerial meetings. The EU and Canada will build on these exchanges through regular summits, joint ministerial meetings and cooperation committees. The partners will work to define the concept of an ever-closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership, by the 2027 EU-Canada summit. (click image to read more)

In elections on both sides of the Atlantic, that are likely to have deep implications for their respective regions, one incumbent won, another lost. In Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, left-wing President Lula won a fourth term in office, defeating his right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro. The 80-year-old, took just under 52% of the vote in a run-off on Sunday. Lula thanked cheering supporters in São Paulo and said he had defended Brazil's democracy. His opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro - who won the first round - says the result is "inexplicable" and called for it to be annulled. His father, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, is currently serving a jail sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after losing the last election. This election was bitterly fought - and it bucks a wider regional trend towards right-wing leaders. On the other side of the Atlantic, in Serbia, long-standing leader Aleksandar Vučić has admitted defeat to the student-led protest movement in snap parliamentary elections. "We still do not have final results... it is clear that we have lost these elections," the right-wing populist leader said as he conceded late on Sunday. Preliminary figures from Serbia's election commission indicated a record high turnout, which commentators had suggested would favour the student movement. Celebrations erupted after Vučić conceded. Vučić called the snap elections after two years of protests triggered by the collapse of a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad, which killed 16 and was seen as emblematic of corruption and negligence. Both election results are going to have a deep impact on their respective regions.