European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday she wanted to open the door to Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member,” in a significant policy shift alongside plans to forge new links in “an openly hostile world”.
EU lawmakers gave her a standing ovation after she made the proposal and then walked over to embrace Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to hear her address.
“I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen said.
The EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes: from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains,” von der Leyen told the assembly.
“But above all … Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” she added.
New partnerships were needed “in the cold fragility of today’s world,” she said.
The 27-nation bloc faces war at its borders, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On trade and other issues, it is also facing stiff rivalry from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and from an increasingly assertive China.
It will be up to EU member states whether von der Leyen’s proposal goes ahead.
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