EU offers to make Canada an ‘associate member’ as strains grow with US

In an unprecedented move, the European Union is opening the door to making Canada a partial member of the bloc.(CN) — In a major speech Wednesday on the state of the European Union, the head of the 27-nation bloc invited Canada to become its first “associate member” and crucial ally in navigating a world upended by war, technological change, climate change and clashing superpowers.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement about Canada was the highlight of a lengthy speech where she laid out a series of initiatives that will guide the EU’s political agenda over the next year.She spoke with a beaming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sitting in the front row of the European Parliament chamber in Strasbourg, France.Carney was expected to make a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday and lay out his vision for future relations between Canada and Europe.Wednesday’s announcement came at a moment when both Europe and Canada are reeling from U.S. President Donald Trump’s disorienting threats and aggressive policies. Canada and the U.S. are in the midst of a bruising trade war with tariffs slapped on billions of dollars of goods.Still, it remained unclear how and whether Canada would become a so-called associate member, a status that does not exist under EU law. In recent months, European policymakers have floated the idea of making Canada and nations seeking full EU membership — such as Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina — partial EU members.Presumably, all 27 EU member states would have to agree on making Canada an associate member, a hurdle that may prove difficult. The idea is to allow associate members to participate in EU institutions though without voting rights.Under such an arrangement, Canada likely would not be bound by EU laws and rules. Carney, the leader of the centrist Liberal Party, also faces resistance to the scheme from the conservative opposition in Canada.Von der Leyen called Canada a natural ally.“We 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 defense, on raw materials and supply chains,” she said. “But above all, dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy.”By drawing closer together, Canada and the EU envision becoming partners in a range of areas from raw materials, advanced technologies and defense. Such an alliance, supporters say, would help the two become less reliant on the U.S. and China while also being able to better counter Russia.Von der Leyen said Europe and Canada are “joining forces voluntarily” with the goal to create “a common prosperity and economic security space.”“We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible,” she said.Von der Leyen’s statement about Canada was one of the few parts of her speech that drew robust applause from the members of the European Parliament, a deeply divided body that reflects broader fractures in European politics as far-right anti-EU political parties gain momentum and power across the continent.Besides the offer to Canada, von der Leyen’s speech was marked by a somber and dark tone as she brought up numerous crises facing the EU.“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” she said. “This is how Charles Dickens describes Europe in the days of the French Revolution, and it is also a fair description of the world we live in. The speed of change is incredible.”She blamed Russia for most of Europe’s troubles, but she made thinly veiled references to Trump and the rise of far-right parties in Europe as other dangers.“Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine rages on and threats are mounting on our soil,” she said, referring to a series of recent incidents that officials suspect to be linked to Russia. Most alarming was the discovery last month of an explosive-laden drone next to a Ukrainian airplane used to carry munitions parked at the Leipzig-Halle Airport in eastern Germany.“We need to be clear about what this was: An attack using military-grade material carried out by Russian operatives on European soil, an attack not only on one member state but against all of our union,” she said about the drone found at the Leipzig-Halle Airport.“We should be under no illusions about what is happening here,” she said. “Hybrid threats facing Europe are less and less hybrid, and less and less threats. Cyber sabotage, arson, drone incursions — they are ramping up every day.”She called on the EU to devise new mechanisms to quickly coordinate responses to threats and create a new European Security Council to work in conjunction with NATO and guide EU-wide defense strategies.“Europe will defend each and every single square meter of its territory,” she said.Von der Leyen also called for setting restrictions on artificial intelligence and banning children under the age of 13 from using social media. She said the commission would propose restricting the use of social media for children older than 13.“I am aware that many perceive the power of Big Tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll back,” she said. “I disagree. We do not have to accept addictive features. We do not have to accept children being drawn into ever more extreme content. We do not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated sexualized images.”Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads