We and our partners do the following data processing based on your consent: store and/or access information on a device, personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development Live: Carney to speak after Trump threatens more EU tariffs over Canada's associate member bid Canadian PM Mark Carey walks in front of EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg on September 16, 2026. © Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will address the European Parliament on Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump called Canada's bid to become an associate EU member a "hostile act." Trump threatened to "stop trading" with Europe and impose "very serious tariffs" if the bid succeeds. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. While EU treaties do not envision the possibility of becoming an "associate member", the idea was first floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year vis-a-vis Ukraine.
Under that plan, which met a cold reception from a country pushing for full membership, Ukraine would have been allowed to attend the bloc's summits and have a representative in the European Commission. It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without full voting rights. "We don't really know yet what it means," said Tobias Cremer, a centre-left European lawmaker from Germany and the main sponsor of a resolution urging stronger EU-Canada cooperation, after von der Leyen's "associate membership" pitch.
But a closer alliance "inherently" made sense, he added. "Not just because we share values and history but because we share common interests, we share a strategic vision," he told AFP. Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the European Policy Centre think tank, said he would not expect significant economic gains for either side, but that there was potential in “standing up together” against Trump’s economic coercion and in working together on economic security.
However, he said one risk was that words were not followed by substance, which would "end up making us weaker rather than stronger." A free-trade agreement between the EU and Canada was reached almost ten years ago, though 10 member states still haven't ratified it. Canada alliance plan 'not against anyone', EU says after Trump threat EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada an "associate member" of the bloc is not aimed against the United States, the European Commission said Thursday after President Donald Trump threatened trade ties over the plan. "As our president made clear yesterday, the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength," the commission's trade spokesperson Olof Gill said when asked about Trump's threat.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will address the EU Parliament at 11:30am US has no power to veto EU geopolitical choices, French minister says The US has no power to veto EU geopolitical choices, France's Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said, after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on EU products following a proposal to make Canada the bloc's first associate member. "It is not up to the United States — or anyone else — to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans. Once again, we have a relationship with Canada, and we are fully entitled to seek to deepen it," Haddad said in an interview on Public Senat TV channel.
Trump threatens more tariffs on EU if it makes Canada associate member Trump has threatened to take action against the EU if it moved forward with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada the bloc's first associate member. "If they do that, if I think it's at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things," Trump told reporters en route to an event in North Carolina, calling the proposal "laughable." "And so, if they do that, if Europe does that with a bad intention, if it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe." EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says she wants Canda to become the bloc's first associate member European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed making Canada the EU’s first associate member, a striking overture as US President Donald Trump’s threats drive Ottawa closer to Europe.
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