Harper makes another pitch for EU trade deal during speech to British Parliament

LONDON – Prime Minister Stephen Harper used his address to British parliamentarians Thursday to make another pitch for a free trade deal with the European Union.

Speaking to U.K. legislators in the robing room of the British Parliament, Harper said a study shows such an agreement would boost two-way trade by 20 per cent.

He also acknowledged British Prime Minister David Cameron’s “robust advocacy” on behalf of a Canada-EU free trade deal.

Harper’s address touted the close ties and shared values of Canada and Britain.

He also boasted about Canada’s economy and measures taken by his government during a time of global economic turmoil.

And the prime minister reaffirmed Canada’s support of Israel as the Middle East’s only “true western democracy,” while condemning the regimes in Iran and Syria.