Prime Minister Stephen Harper told European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, according to a statement, "that it is imperative for European Union member nations to consider their next steps carefully as they discuss any measure that would restrict or exclude the sale of seal products within their borders."

The two leaders met on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Japan.

Harper said Canada's hunt is "humane, sustainable and regulated," and added "public pressure within the European Union to curb the sale of seal products is based on misinformation from anti-sealing organizations and extremist groups."

Each year, anti-sealing activists clash with sealers and Canadian fisheries officials on Canada's Atlantic coast, denouncing the hunt as cruel.

Protestors have called for a complete halt to all trade in seal furs, but World Trade Organization rules would make such a step impossible, a European source said.

The commission is expected to make a decision whether to ban the importation of furs made from the skins of young seals hunted in Canada when it meets on July 23.

It will then look to the EU's 27 member states to approve or vote down the measure.

But Harper warned: "Canada will not stand by and accept measures that fly in the face of accepted international practices for sustainability and trade and undermine trade of seal products harvested in accordance with international standards."

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