EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

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

Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament connected Wednesday she wanted to activity connected "opening the door" for Canada, which would impact person ties connected various cardinal sectors.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney past week said of seeking a "unique alliance" pinch the EU. The state presently faces tense relations pinch the US, compounded by an intensifying conflict complete trade.

Without mentioning US President Donald Trump by name, von der Leyen said offering Canada immoderate benignant of EU rank was "not a business against anyone else, but for our communal strength".

She added: "Partnerships are a strategical prime for Europe. But they besides respond to the fracture successful the world rules-based system".

Carney was successful attendance astatine the yearly cardinal statement reside successful Strasbourg, and is owed to reside the parliament connected Thursday.

Trade talks betwixt Canada and the US collapsed past month, sparking a series of caller tariff measures. Trump's repeated talk of making Canada a "51st state" has besides helped to substance the feud betwixt the North American neighbours.

Von der Leyen told the EU's State of the Union reside that the bloc and Canada "see the world pinch the aforesaid eyes", including connected topics ranging from AI, to ambiance alteration and geopolitics.

"And we person stood together: connected Ukraine, connected defence, connected earthy materials and connected proviso chains. But supra all... Europe and Canada judge successful democracy."

She listed manufacturing, technology, AI, defence, energy, captious minerals and economical information arsenic cardinal areas for practice nether the partnership.

The EU and Canada already person a free-trade statement eliminating duties connected 99% of equipment exports called the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).

"We will move from CETA to an Alliance for the Future to create a communal prosperity and economical information space," said von der Leyen.

The move comes arsenic EU members person besides been deed waste and acquisition tariffs nether Trump's management and arsenic the bloc faces what its main described arsenic "an openly dispute world".

Setting retired the EU's governmental and argumentation priorities for twelvemonth ahead, von der Leyen besides projected the statement of a European Security Council, which would see the UK and Ukraine, amid an ongoing threat to the continent from Russia.

"For a agelong time, we person discussed a leaders' format focused connected the information of our continent, pinch partners for illustration Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved," she said successful the wide-ranging address.

"This is moreover much urgent now, fixed the quality and standard of the risks astatine play. This is why we will group retired our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality."

Alongside world threats, von der Leyen besides said galore European families were worried astir the costs of living, and the "dizzying velocity of change" of exertion and its impacts connected jobs and society.

Other proposals included inviting the world's largest AI labs for talks connected really to support manufacture efforts to gait the frontier, arsenic good arsenic slashing bureaucracy for businesses successful the EU.

Plans to curb societal media usage among children, including banning platforms for nether 13s, were besides put forward. Under the proposal, children aged 13 to 15 would only beryllium capable to group up societal media accounts which are supervised by parents.