Could Canada become the first 'associate member' of the EU?

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has raised the possibility of Canada becoming the EU's first "associate member". She made this suggestion while pitching closer cooperation on tech, defence, and energy to Canadian leader Justin Trudeau, not Mark Carney as reported, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Von der Leyen stated that as democracies face a "fracture in the international rules-based system", Brussels and Ottawa need to work together more closely. She expressed her desire to "work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU".

The proposed associate membership would involve closer ties between the EU and Canada in various sectors, including tech, defence, energy, intelligent manufacturing, and critical minerals. According to Malay Mail, von der Leyen told the European Parliament that Canada and the EU "see the world with the same eyes" on issues such as AI, climate change, and geopolitics.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local Germany, The Local France, The Local Spain, Malay Mail, MyJoyOnline Ghana — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.