European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada an "associate member" of the bloc is not aimed at opposing anyone, the European Commission announced on September 17, after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs.
As our chairman made clear yesterday, strengthening partnerships with Canada as proposed is not against anyone else, but for our common strength," European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill replied when asked about the threat from Mr. Trump.
The US President has threatened to impose "strict tariffs" on the European Union and cut trade after the bloc proposed admitting Canada as its first member in history, calling the idea "ridiculous".
Imposing this move as a "hostile act", Mr. Trump told reporters that he could impose "very strict tariffs or stop trading with Europe".
If it's goodwill, it's okay. If it's malicious, we will impose very heavy taxes on Europe," he added.
Ms. von der Leyen invited Canada to become the first "associated member" of the EU on September 16, one day before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke before the European Parliament.
The President of the European Commission proposed closer cooperation on technology, defense and energy, affirming before the European Parliament that when democracies face "breakdowns in the rule-based international system", Brussels and Ottawa need to get closer.
According to Ms. von der Leyen, it is time to move from trade-based cooperation to a broader "union for the future" and "raise relations with Canada to the highest possible level".
The 27-member alliance has never had an associate membership status, despite maintaining close relations with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland - countries with deep economic integration and complying with many EU regulations. It is still necessary to see what the associate membership status means, including Canada's relationship with the common European market.
Canada and the EU currently have a trade agreement and many bilateral agreements, but the two sides have become closer since Mr. Trump returned to the White House and raised tariffs on both long-time allies, and have repeatedly mentioned Canada becoming the 51st US state and attacked the EU.
