EU considers making Canada its first associate member
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday that she wants to open the door for Canada to become the European Union’s first associate member, reports BritPanorama.
The overture comes as Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Ottawa to seek closer economic and security ties with Europe. Carney has called for a “unique alliance” with the EU as Canada aims to lessen its heavy dependence on U.S. trade.
“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada being the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen stated during her annual State of the European Union address. Carney received a standing ovation from European lawmakers. He is scheduled to address the European Parliament on Thursday.
Von der Leyen indicated that Canada and the EU would build on their existing free trade agreement, known as CETA, with a broader “Alliance for the Future” designed to create “a common prosperity and economic security space.”
She framed that closer relationship as grounded not only in trade but also in shared democratic values.
“Above all, dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” von der Leyen remarked. “We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest, but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.”
Von der Leyen elaborated that the expanded partnership would encompass advanced manufacturing, technology, defense production, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and economic security.
“This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” she asserted. “In short, we want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible.”
