Canada welcomes EU proposal to become 'associate member'

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the European Union's ambition for Canada to become its first "associate member", calling for closer cooperation on defence, critical minerals and energy security.

Key points

• Carney informed the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday that Canada and Europe were "stronger together" in the face of "geopolitical rupture".
• Responding to Trump's comments at a press conference after his address, Carney stated: "This alliance is a positive process, that's my response to the American president."
• A Canada-EU summit is due to take place in Montreal at the end of October, where Carney remarked they would "drill down the details".
• US President Donald Trump earlier called the idea "laughable" and threatened "very serious tariffs" on Europe if he considered it a "hostile act".
• Carney remarked Canada was "not in a position, nor seeking, to become a full member of the European Union", describing the proposal as a "different framework".

His comments came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed "opening the door" to Canada's associate membership, a status that does not at present exist.

Canada and the US are locked in an escalating trade dispute, with each side imposing tit-for-tat tariffs after bilateral discussions collapsed last month.

"Today our societies are being battered by new storms, " Carney remarked during his address, naming them as climate change, "the erosion of democratic norms" and the "weaponisation of trade".

"Economic integration is now being weaponised, tariffs being used to exert pressure, " he remarked.

"Financial mechanisms have been applied for coercion. Supply chains constitute subdued points to be exploited."

While stressing the two sides were not seeking to form a new power bloc, he remarked a Canada-EU alliance would create a "beacon for other democracies".

"I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival – only with better manners, " he informed MEPs.

"This is regarding sovereignty, our ability to live as we wish. We do not seek power to dominate others."

Asked regarding the proposal on Wednesday, Trump stated to journalists: If I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put particularly serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on numerous things.

"If it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put particularly heavy tariffs on Europe. It is a possibility."

"Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no-one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally, " he continued.

Carney remarked Canada was "not in a position, nor seeking, to become a full member of the European Union", describing the proposal as a "different framework". Carney's new love-in with EU has everything to do with Trump. EU chief backs plan for Canada to become 'associate member'.

Speaking at the European Parliament on Wednesday, von der Leyen remarked she wanted Canada to become the EU's first associate member, with closer cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, technology, defence, energy critical minerals and economic security.

It is unclear exactly what that relationship would look like since the "associate member" status does not at present exist within the EU and could take years to implement.

Any new arrangement would require the agreement of all 27 EU member states, with some governments having previously expressed reservations regarding creating a new form of membership.

Notably, the EU and Canada already have a free-trade agreement, and cooperate in areas including trade, defence and research.

In his address, Carney remarked Canada and Europe could strengthen their "strategic autonomy" through "deep co-operation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals".

While benefiting from Europe's expertise in clean-energy technologies, he remarked Canada could supply liquefied natural gas and hydrogen to backing European energy security.

He additionally proposed pooling technological resources and deepening "people to people ties", including allowing young residents to "work, study and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic" through Canada joining the EU's Erasmus+ programme.

Carney described the proposed relationship as "a unique, positive approach that we will define together".

He continued that there would be a debate and a vote in the Canadian parliament on the proposals, but emphasised the two sides were still at the "start of a road".

Meanwhile, a Canada-EU summit is due to take place in Montreal at the end of October, where Carney remarked they would "drill down the details".

In short, canada welcomes EU proposal to become ' associate member&#039 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.