Brussels
tries to calm Trump over offer to make Canada an EU associate member
The
proposed stronger partnership between Brussels and Ottawa is not directed
against anyone else, says the EU Commission.
US
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney look on as they
meet in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
September
17, 2026 12:37 pm CET
By Camille Gijs and Victor
Goury-Laffont
BRUSSELS
— The European Commission sprang into damage-control mode Thursday over
its surprise offer to bring Canada on board as the EU’s first “associate
member” — a proposal that immediately triggered U.S. President Donald Trump’s
wrath.
Trump threatened to impose “very heavy tariffs” if the proposal
goes through, warning that he could treat European Commission chief Ursula von
der Leyen’s audacious offer to Ottawa as a “hostile act.”
Von der
Leyen proposed upgrading relations with Ottawa during her annual State
of the Union speech in Strasbourg on Wednesday, saying the move would help
to “urgently reimagine our partnerships” and “build global coalitions for our
resilience and democracies.”
Responding
to Trump’s comments, the Commission was keen to stress the move was not
intended to antagonize.
“The
proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone
else, but for our common strength,” said Deputy Chief Spokesperson Olof Gill.
Trump’s
threats drew a more robust response from Kathleen Van Brempt, the Belgian vice
chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee.
“Trump
has no veto over our future. We will not be pressured into abandoning that
cooperation,” she said. “That Trump has immediately resorted to threats of this
severity speaks volumes. It shows precisely why closer cooperation between
Europe and Canada is wise and necessary. He does not think the idea is
ridiculous. He fears it.”
Von der
Leyen’s bombshell offer of associate membership to Canada has left the
Commission isolated. The EU’s
biggest countries have raised concerns about the untried concept, which
appeared to be aimed at showcasing closer ties between Brussels and
Ottawa as their trade relations with the United States come under strain.
The EU
has no existing model for associate membership, while any decision on full
membership would involve the Council, the bloc’s intergovernmental arm, and
require the European Parliament’s consent.
French
Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot emphasized that the offer to Canada
had not yet been agreed by capitals.
“Our aim
is to forge ever-closer ties with Canada ... as for the exact wording — as is
often the case when the Commission makes a proposal — it will need to be
debated, dissected, and analyzed before we can take a position,” he said in an
interview on
LCI on Thursday. “We will examine what it entails, and then we will take a
position.”
Carney name-checked
the term in his own address to European lawmakers on Thursday, lauding von
der Leyen’s “opening the door to Canada becoming the EU’s first associate
member.” But he avoided discussing how this might come about and kept his
comments broad and aspirational.
“We
welcome this ambition — polling shows an overwhelming majority of Canadians
support much closer ties. An alliance for the future is a unique, positive
approach that we will define together, building on our common strengths and
based on shared values,” Carney said.
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