European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has backed proposals for Canada to become the European Union’s first “associate member.”
Speaking to the European Parliament on Wednesday, von der Leyen said she wanted to work on “opening the door” to Canada, which would create deeper ties in several key areas.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for a “special partnership” with the EU last week as tensions between Canada and the US continue to rise amid an escalating trade dispute.
Without directly naming US President Donald Trump, von der Leyen said closer EU-Canada ties would be “not a cooperation against anyone else, but for our joint strength.”
She added: “Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system”.
The failure of US-Canada trade negotiations last month prompted several new tariff measures. Tensions between the two North American neighbours have also increased following Trump’s repeated remarks about making Canada the “51st state”.
In her State of the Union address, von der Leyen said Canada and the EU “view the world with the same eyes” on issues including geopolitics, artificial intelligence and climate change.
She identified manufacturing, technology, artificial intelligence, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security as key areas for cooperation. However, she did not explain how any potential Canadian membership would work.
Some countries in the western Balkans on the road
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have already begun the complex process of joining the European Union as full members.
Moldova and Georgia have also applied for European Union membership from Eastern Europe.
However, 10 of the bloc’s 27 members have yet to ratify a free-trade agreement with Ottawa that the EU reached almost a decade ago. Some European capitals also prefer to expand existing trade and defence agreements rather than create a new membership structure for Canada.
Amid Russia’s continued threat to Europe, von der Leyen advocated creating a European Security Council that would include the UK and Ukraine. She also outlined the EU’s political and strategic priorities for the coming year.
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