Canadian Prime Minister Carney will visit Strasbourg, France and Liverpool, England from September 15 to 17 to seek further strengthening ties with Europe. According to news from the US side on the 13th, Carney sought Canada's special status as an “associate member” of the European Union during this trip. Officials from the EU and Canada say the EU is open to the idea of granting Canada “associate member” status. The idea of an “associate member country” was proposed by German Chancellor Mertz earlier this year; initially, the idea was mainly aimed at Ukraine. According to Mertz's vision, before Ukraine becomes a full member of the EU, it will be allowed to participate in the operation of EU meetings and institutions in an interim manner, but it will not have the right to vote. Analysts said that there is currently no formal category of “associate member country” in the EU, and Canada may face a series of obstacles if it seeks to obtain this status. Despite this, increasing trade and geopolitical frictions between Europe and the US are likely to prompt the EU to consider establishing a deeper cooperative relationship with Canada in a more flexible manner.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney will visit Strasbourg, France and Liverpool, England from September 15 to 17 to seek further strengthening ties with Europe. According to news from the US side on the 13th, Carney sought Canada's special status as an “associate member” of the European Union during this trip. Officials from the European Union and Canada say the EU is open to the idea of granting Canada “associate member” status. The idea of an “associate member country” was proposed by German Chancellor Mertz earlier this year; initially, the idea was mainly aimed at Ukraine. According to Mertz's vision, before Ukraine becomes a full member of the EU, it will be allowed to participate in the operation of EU meetings and institutions in an interim manner, but it will not have the right to vote. Analysts said that there is currently no formal category of “associate member country” in the EU, and Canada may face a series of obstacles if it seeks to obtain this status. Despite this, increasing trade and geopolitical frictions between Europe and the US are likely to prompt the EU to consider establishing a deeper cooperative relationship with Canada in a more flexible manner.