Canada PM Carney to attend von der Leyen EU speech

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's annual address to the European Parliament next month, a European Commission official said Wednesday.

The official said Carney had accepted an invitation to attend the September 16 State of the Union speech in Strasbourg. The address is billed as a chance for von der Leyen to set the European Union's priorities for the coming year.

The appearance comes a little over a month before the next EU-Canada summit, scheduled to take place in Canada on October 29-30.

Ottawa is seeking closer ties with the EU amid a worsening rift with Washington. The EU has also been working to diversify its international partnerships in the face of an increasingly adversarial US administration.