- European Commission President von der Leyen proposes Canada as EU's first associate member
- The partnership aims to create a shared prosperity and economic security space
- Plans include cooperation on manufacturing, tech, defence, Arctic projects, and AI
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed closer ties with Canada, saying she wants to work with Prime Minister Mark Carney on making it the European Union's first associate member. The arrangement would be unprecedented for a non-European country.
"I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union," von der Leyen said, adding that the two sides would move to an alliance for the future and "create a common prosperity and economic security space".
Setting out the scope of the proposed partnership, von der Leyen said the two sides would work together on intelligent manufacturing and create a tech alliance. She said they would also integrate their defence industrial bases and make the Arctic a flagship joint project.
The Commission President added that cooperation would extend to energy, critical minerals and batteries, as well as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cyber and economic security.
In a post on X addressed to Carney, von der Leyen said the EU wanted to take its relationship with Canada "to the highest level possible", reiterating the associate membership proposal and the plan to build a shared prosperity and economic security space.
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The EU has no formal category of associate membership in its treaties, and the concept has previously been floated in policy circles as a way to deepen ties with close partners short of full accession, which is legally restricted to European states under Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union.
Any such arrangement with Canada would therefore require a bespoke framework rather than an existing legal pathway.
Brussels and Ottawa have progressively deepened economic and security ties in recent years, building on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and a security and defence partnership, as both sides look to diversify away from dependence on the United States amid trade frictions and shifting transatlantic dynamics under the Trump administration.
Von der Leyen did not specify a timeline for the proposal or detail what legal form associate membership would take. Carney has not immediately responded to the offer.
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