EU offers Canada ‘associate membership’ – but what does that mean?

Such a status does not exist in the bloc’s treaties and has raised concerns among member states European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to make Canada the EU’s first ‘associate member’ has raised questions about what such a relationship would mean.The idea, unveiled during von der Leyen’s State of the Union address earlier this week, has drawn reservations from some EU states.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has since welcomed the EU’s “ambition,” while stressing that Canada is not seeking full membership in the bloc.So, what exactly is being proposed – and could it actually happen? What did von der Leyen propose?With Carney attending her address in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said the EU and Canada should build what she called an “alliance for the future.”“We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible,” she said, adding that this would cover areas including energy, critical minerals and defense, with the Arctic becoming a “flagship joint project.”What is ‘associate membership’?There is currently no status of “associate member” of the EU. The term does not appear in the bloc’s treaties, no country holds such a position, and Bruss...