Australia could follow Canada as EU 'associate member', parliament president says - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Mark Carney and Roberta Metsola are both talking about stronger ties between Canada and Europe. (Reuters: Yves Herman)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the prospect of Canada becoming the first "associate member" of the European Union.
Mr Carney spoke at the European Parliament a day after the European Commission president floated the idea of a closer association between Canada and the EU.
While the 27 members of the EU would have to agree on the plan for associate membership, Australia and New Zealand could follow, the European Parliament president suggested.
Australia and New Zealand could follow Canada in becoming "associate members" of the European Union, the president of the European Parliament has suggested.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU in her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.
Short of full membership of the trading bloc, an "associate membership" status does not yet exist but could mean closer regulatory alignment, access to some parts of the single market and participation in some EU programmes.
Such a deal could be some distance away for Canada, with some of Prime Minister Mark Carney's politicial opponents back in Ottawa sceptical of the idea.
But European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hinted Australia and New Zealand could explore a similar path to Canada.
"There are countries with which we want to deepen our relationship," Ms Metsola told Europe Today.
"I don't doubt that it will include other countries, and others will come knocking at our door.
"In such times of uncertainty, having friends matters."
Ms Metsola said Australia and New Zealand, which both have trade deals with the EU, are examples of deep relationships.
"We're doing it in terms of trade; we're doing it in terms of conversation on what we do with social media, with children, with critical minerals, alliances that can be forged," she said.
The ABC has contacted the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.
Mark Carney says by seeking a Canada-Europe partnership he is not trying to create a power bloc with "better manners".
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the proposal of closer ties with the EU, saying Europe and Canada were stronger together and should deepen ties to protect their citizens' prosperity.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump derided Ms von der Leyen's overtures to Canada as "laughable" and said he would hit Europe with further tariffs if he deemed the proposal hostile.
"Europe and Canada are each strong. Europe and Canada are even stronger together," Mr Carney told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
"I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival — only with better manners.
"We do not seek power to dominate others.
"On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law."
Both the EU and Canada have been facing stiff rivalry and pressure from Mr Trump's administration on trade, among other matters, and from an increasingly assertive China.
Mr Trump threatened late on Wednesday to take action against the EU if it moves forward with Ms von der Leyen's proposal of associate membership for Canada.
"If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things," Mr Trump told reporters en route to an event in North Carolina, calling the proposal "laughable".
The European Commission said Ms von der Leyen's proposal — which is yet to be fleshed out and will need to be approved by EU member states to go forward — was not a hostile act.
"As our President (von der Leyen) made clear yesterday, the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength," Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson, said.
Speaking in the European Parliament, Mr Carney made clear he, like the EU, sought deeper ties.
"We are not fair-weather allies," he said.
"We believe that our prosperity grows when it is shared.
"The objective is not self-sufficiency. It is collective resilience."
And referring to Ms von der Leyen's proposal, he added: "We welcome this ambition".
Mark Carney says closer ties between Canada and Europe would strengthen collective resilience. (Reuters: Yves Herman)
Among areas in which Mr Carney said Canada would want closer ties with the EU he mentioned seeking strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security, space, and payments.
He also mentioned digital trade and building more secure broadband connections between Europe and Asia via their common geography.
