Prime Minister Mark Carney responds with namaste as Ursula von der Leyen invites Canada to become EU’s first ‘associate member’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has invited Canada to become the European Union’s first “associate member”, as Brussels and Ottawa look to strengthen economic and strategic cooperation amid uncertainty in transatlantic trade. “I invite Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen said during her State of the Union speech on Wednesday.

Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney thanked by doing a namaste.

EU treaties allow membership only for European states, making Canada ineligible for full membership. The proposed associate-member status could provide a new framework for closer cooperation between Canada and the 27-member bloc.


Von der Leyen also proposed expanding the existing Canada-EU trade relationship into a wider strategic partnership.

“We will move from CETA to an Alliance for the Future. To create a common prosperity and economic security space," she said.