The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that the European Union's Financial Services Commissioner is building deeper ties with leaders in Canada's financial sector as both sides grapple with key infrastructure, mitigating risks in digital sovereignty and boosting innovation in banking. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta and James Bradshaw write that Maria Luís Albuquerque, the EU's Commissioner for Financial Services, met with government officials, banking regulators, pension funds and fintechs in recent days. Canada and Europe are each looking for ways to bolster their economies amid mounting geopolitical tensions, as part of a broader push to realign with like-minded global partners amid the U.S.'s stark shift to protectionism. Canada's "visibility" as a reliable partner has increased in Europe, she said. Similar to the Canadian banking sector, Europe depends heavily on U.S. tech giants for payments infrastructure, such as Visa and Mastercard, and cloud and software systems, and views that dependency as a threat to its security. The EU has been improving its payments and money transfer systems, promoting European technology providers, and is developing a digital euro -- a tokenized version of the EU's currency.
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