Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the European Union’s proposal for the country to become the first “associate member”, as the president of the European Parliament suggested Australia could follow.
What we know:
Carney told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday that the alliance would create a “beacon for other democracies” in the face of “geopolitical rupture”. He stressed the two sides were not seeking to form a new power bloc (BBC).US President Donald Trump earlier threatened “very serious tariffs” on Europe if he considered the membership a “hostile act” (BBC).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,” she said, using both nations as examples of deep relationships (ABC).It remains unclear exactly what associate membership of the union would look like, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted it to include closer cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, technology, defence, energy-critical minerals and economic security (BBC).
Read more: The strategy of the middle powers (The Saturday Paper)