UK urged to follow Canada’s example as it looks set to become ‘associate member’ of EU

Andy Burnham is facing calls to ensure the UK does not fall behind its international allies after the European Union opened the door to Canada becoming its first 'associate member'.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the new status as Canada and the EU both deal with the fallout from Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

She said the EU and Canada would work together across sectors from manufacturing to AI, critical minerals and energy, although the details of the arrangement would have to be negotiated.

Experts say up to 8 per cent of GDP has been wiped off the UK economy by Brexit, through lost trade and increased red tape.

Andy Burnham has said he wants to be “bolder” than his predecessor in resetting relations with the bloc, but has also vowed to honour Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of people, Labour’s so-called ‘red lines’.

Nick Boles, the former Tory minister who helped to prepare Labour for office before it entered government in 2024, said the idea of associate membership was “very positive and it is definitely something the UK should explore”.

Last month Mr Boles published a blueprint he believes could see Britain strike a deal with EU leaders that would protect the continent and offer the UK a much-needed economic boost, by effectively trading defence capability and access to the single market in a new European confederation.

He questioned if the new status would provide material economic benefits, address security questions and the EU’s “own concerns about granting freedom of movement to Ukrainians, Albanians etc?”

But he added: “If the answer to those questions is ‘yes’, associate membership is definitely something the UK should embrace.”

Mark English, from campaign group European Movement UK, called on the UK to follow Canada’s “proactive example” when it comes to a relationship with the bloc.

"Canada's positive and rapidly developing transatlantic relationship with the EU is a win for both sides,” he told The Independent. “It shows the EU is a powerful and attractive power for good in the world, and it shows the value of democracies standing together against illiberal forces.

“The UK’s relationship with the EU, from right next door, is even more economically and geopolitically important. So we need to follow Canada's proactive example and get it moving again, by sewing up deals on youth experience, food and energy, and then going further."

Naomi Smith, the chief executive of Best for Britain, which campaigns for the UK to restore its EU membership, said that while the PM and Canadian PM Mark Carney are due to watch Everton play later there is “more than football our two countries have in common”.

Both economies “are being squeezed by the inflationary impact of Trump's trade wars, deepening the cost of living crisis for their citizens, and neither can count on the US as a reliable trading partner, and both are threatened by an authoritarian in Moscow determined to destroy our liberal democracies,” she said.

“Carney is treating the EU as the strategic asset it is, and the UK must do the same, going much further than the status quo to signal our intention to apply for membership. Voters want it, our economy needs it, and Burnham can deliver it.”