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European and Canadian officials have expanded their cooperation on digital policy with new agreements that link digital identity infrastructure, artificial intelligence development, and management of online information.
The partnership, presented as a joint effort to strengthen “trust” and “information integrity,” commits both sides to exploring systems that would connect citizens’ digital credentials across borders while sharing data for AI research.
We obtained a copy of the joint statement for you here.
Two memoranda of understanding were signed: one on Digital Credentials and Trust Services and another on Artificial Intelligence.
The digital credentials agreement creates a working forum for joint experiments, technical coordination, and the testing of “digital identity wallets.”
These wallets are software tools that store verified identity documents, allowing people to confirm their identity online or in person using standardized credentials backed by government trust frameworks.
The artificial intelligence memorandum focuses on the infrastructure behind large AI systems.
It establishes a “structured dialogue on data spaces,” a term referring to controlled environments where data can be exchanged among multiple organizations under a common governance framework.
While the purpose is described as supporting innovation, such data-sharing arrangements could also increase the circulation of personal or behavioral data between jurisdictions, raising questions about oversight and consent.
Beyond technical matters, the AI plan promises to “accelerate AI adoption in strategic sectors” and to develop “advanced AI models for the public good.” It sets out to align Europe’s and Canada’s approaches on infrastructure, standards, and regulation, drawing the two regions closer in how they design and control large AI ecosystems.
Another section of the partnership turns to media and information control. The governments agreed to “cooperation on enhancing information integrity online” and pledged to fund efforts “strengthening independent media by supporting local journalism.”
Officially, this is aimed at combating “foreign information manipulation” and addressing the challenges of generative AI.
The phrase “information integrity” appears with growing frequency in international policy documents, and its use in the EU–Canada partnership lands in the middle of an already expanding global trend.
The wording may sound neutral, but it often signals a preference for managed information flows rather than open public debate. A July 2025 development at the United Nations illustrates why the term can raise concerns.
The UN’s first Global Risk Report placed what it called “mis- and disinformation” among the most severe global threats. Inside that same report, the organization announced a new task force whose purpose is to examine how unauthorized narratives might interfere with the UN’s operations, particularly the 2030 Agenda.
The framing is presented as a matter of public welfare, yet the described mission is not about encouraging transparency or open discussion. It is about maintaining a communication environment that protects institutional priorities.
According to the report, survey participants from governments, NGOs, companies, and other groups broadly supported coordinated government action and multistakeholder coalitions to confront the identified risks.
What is missing is any call for more open communication or stronger protections for free expression. The dominant approach favors centralized management of public narratives, reinforcing the idea that the solution to contested information is tighter control rather than broader participation.
The first meeting of the Canada–EU Digital Partnership Council was held in Montreal on December 8, co-chaired by Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon and European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen.
This meeting put earlier commitments into action, following the EU–Canada Digital Partnership announced in late 2023 and the Strategic Partnership of the Future statement adopted at the June 2025 summit.
For the European Union, this partnership supports its European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet initiative, which aims to give citizens a unified digital container for verified credentials usable across public and private services.
Canada has been pursuing similar goals through its Pan-Canadian Trust Framework and several provincial pilots, but it has not yet introduced a single national wallet. The cross-border cooperation suggests that any federal system in Canada will be built with global standards such as W3C Verifiable Credentials and eIDAS in mind.
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