European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated plans to make Canada an associate member of the European Union, saying the bloc must urgently rethink its partnerships.
“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a speech in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
“We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well,” she said.
The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Carney had instructed his special envoy to Europe to scope out the most ambitious possibilities short of full membership in the EU. The push comes after a collapse in U.S.-Canada trade talks, with President Trump having threatened to make Canada the 51st state of America.
Von der Leyen’s comments came as part of her annual State of the Union speech, in which she set out further plans to boost the bloc’s economy, touching on a broad range of subjects from agriculture and climate to relations with China.
She said permits and financing can determine where investments are made and that the bloc needs to move much faster on permitting.
The EU needs a pact against gold-plating—where governments add extra restrictions or provisions on top of existing rules—if officials are serious about simplifying the region’s regulations, she said.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
