EU chief opens door for Canada to become ‘associate member’

The president of the European Commission has backed proposals for Canada to become the EU's first "associate member".

Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday she wanted to work on "opening the door" for Canada, which would involve closer ties on various key sectors.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last week spoke of seeking a "unique alliance" with the EU, coming as he faces tense relations with the US and Donald Trump.

Without mentioning the US president by name, von der Leyen said offering Canada some sort of EU membership was "not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength."

She added: "Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system".

Carney was in attendance at the annual key note speech in Strasbourg, and is due to address the parliament on Thursday.

Trade talks between Canada and the US collapsed last month, sparking a series of new tariff measures.

Von der Leyen told the EU's State of the Union address that the bloc and Canada "see the world with the same eyes", including on topics ranging from AI, to climate change and 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."

She also listed energy, critical minerals, batteries, AI, cyber and economic security, as other fields of cooperation.

The move comes as EU members have also been hit trade tariffs under Trump's administration.

Von der Leyen also proposed the formation of a European Security Council, which would include the UK and Ukraine, amid an ongoing threat to the continent from Russia.

"For a long time, we have discussed a leaders' format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved," she said in the wide-ranging address.

"This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play. This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality."

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