European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has offered Canada the prospect of becoming the first associated member of the European Union.
In her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen proposed directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney, the first foreign head of government ever to attend the speech.
“I said that we must urgently reshape our partnerships. That is why I would like to work with you to pave the way for Canada to become the first associated member of the EU,” she said.
The EU and Canada already have a free trade agreement through CETA, but von der Leyen said she now wanted to take ties with Ottawa “to the highest possible level”. She pointed to closer co-operation in energy, raw materials, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cyber security and the defence industry.
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Von der Leyen said the EU and Canada viewed the world in much the same way, from Ukraine and the Arctic to support for democracy and international law. “We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or those who shout the loudest,” she said.
She added that the proposed partnership “is not directed against anyone else, but is meant to strengthen our shared capacity”.
Canada, as a neighbour of the United States, has been among the first countries hit by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policy.
Carney is due to address the European Parliament on Thursday.
