EU chief von der Leyen pitches Canada as bloc’s first ‘associate member’

Carney was the first foreign head of government to attend the EU’s annual State of the Union address. His visit is expected to provide momentum ahead of an EU-Canada summit scheduled to take place in Montreal next month.

Calling for closer ties with Ottawa in areas including technology, defence and energy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed exploring the possibility of Canada becoming the European Union’s first “associate member”.

The EU and Canada should strengthen their partnership as democracies confronting what she described as a “fracture in the international rules-based system”, said von der Leyen while adressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"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 told the Canadian prime minister, who was attending her annual keynote speech, drawing a standing ovation in the chamber.

Carney has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union, as both seek to pivot away from a hostile United States under President Donald Trump.

The first foreign head of government to attend the annual "State of the European Union" address, his visit is meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.

Von der Leyen said it was time to move from cooperation based on trade to a broader "alliance for the future" and "bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible".

"We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defence industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project," she said.

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

"This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength," she added.

EU treaties do not envision the possibility of becoming an "associate member". But the idea was first floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year vis-a-vis Ukraine.

Under the plan, which met a cold reception in Kyiv as it pushes for full membership status, Ukraine would have been allowed to attend the bloc's summits and have a representative in the European Commission.

It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without having full voting rights.

Buffeted by US tariffs and competition from China, Brussels and Ottawa already enjoy a considerable level of cooperation.

A free-trade agreement (CETA) that abolished almost all tariffs has been credited with boosting trade in goods and services by more than 80 percent since 2016.

And this year Canada became the first non-EU country to join a flagship defence loan programme.

"We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest – but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work," von der Leyen said. "So, we are joining forces voluntarily."