EU opens door to Canada becoming first "associate member"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed opening the way for Canada to become the European Union’s first “associate member”, as the bloc seeks to deepen ties with allies amid what she described as an “openly hostile world.”

Von der Leyen made the proposal on Wednesday, September 16, during her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attending. EU lawmakers gave her a standing ovation after the announcement, after which she walked over to embrace Carney.

New partnerships were needed “in the cold fragility of today’s world,” von der Leyen told the assembly.

The 27-member bloc faces war on its borders following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the EU and Canada are also confronting growing trade and geopolitical competition from the United States under President Donald Trump and an increasingly assertive China.

“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 European Commission president said the EU and Canada shared common views on a range of issues, from artificial intelligence and climate change to the Arctic and geopolitics.

“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. But above all ... Europe and Canada believe in democracy,’” von der Leyen told the assembly.

The proposal would still require the backing of EU member states and cannot be implemented by von der Leyen alone.

The EU has historically been reluctant to establish flexible forms of partnership without a formal legal status. EU members also reacted cautiously to a German proposal in May for Ukraine to receive associate-member status as a potential step toward full EU accession.

One EU diplomat expressed surprise at von der Leyen’s proposal, saying “nobody really knows what it means”. The diplomat also warned that the European Commission chief “is overpromising and won't be able to deliver.”

Ahead of von der Leyen’s speech, seven EU diplomats in Canada and Europe told Reuters that efforts were under way to deepen cooperation with Ottawa on trade, defence and digital security. However, they said no specific plan for a more comprehensive EU-Canada relationship had been discussed at a high level.

By Tamilla Hasanova