Dutch PM pans Brexit, praises links with Canada

• Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte evoked the battlefields of the Second World War yesterday as he urged Canada to forge closer links to Europe.

Both Rutte and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed shared concern Thursday over the current fate of the international order that both their countries help to create following the carnage of the war.

The theme developed over Rutte’s one-day visit and was laid plain in his morning speech to Parliament where he said Canada and the Netherlands have a special role to play after Brexit.

Rutte told the House of Commons that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is “a terrible idea.”

He also invoked the strong bonds with Canada forged during the Second World War.

“In Europe, we now face the great unknown of Brexit. Let me be totally honest, I still think it’s a terrible idea,” Rutte said in his speech, as Trudeau looked on.

Rutte said that Brexit negotiations are proving complex because “it’s not so easy to unbreak the eggs that made the omelette.”

Rutte said his country needs to continue working with the United Kingdom.

“Together with Canada I’m sure we will succeed in building new and even stronger bridges between both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

Trudeau told Parliament that the bond between Canada and the Netherlands has been “tested and solidified on the battle field.” He said the countries share a strong sense of duty and a commitment to fairness.

“It’s brought us together in defence of shared goals and ambitions and it will propel us to a new prosperity in the decades ahead.”

Rutte praised the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA, saying the wide-ranging free trade deal between the EU and Canada is a progressive, modern agreement. He said it shows that trade does not have to be a “zero sum game.”

The Dutch leader said his country and Canada helped build the international rulesbased order that rose from the “ruins” of the Second World War, including NATO, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

He said the two countries share a commitment to free and fair trade, and the ongoing effort to make global institutions more relevant to people around the world feeling the ill effects of globalization. Rutte said “geopolitical shifts” need to be addressed.

“In the past we worked to build a better world order and it’s true after so many years the system we built is now showing some cracks.”

Rutte didn’t mention Donald Trump by name, but said that the U.S. can’t be blamed for asking other NATO countries to increase their defence spending — a case Trump has made loudly in the past.

Rutte thanked Canadian soldiers for their efforts in liberating the Netherlands during the Second World War.

“They made ultimate sacrifice and Netherlands is their final resting place.”