The EU's founding treaty clearly states that only "European" countries can become members of the EU.
But one country still wants to position itself a little closer to the Union than all the others.
Canada (is) the most European of all non-European countries, said Prime Minister Mark Carney on a visit to Paris last year.
“Unique alliance”
Now he is in France again, to give a speech in the European Parliament about the cooperation that both he and all European leaders currently seem to agree should be developed as far as possible.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was clear about what she wants when she gave her annual state of the union speech on Wednesday.
"I want to work with you to open the door to making Canada the EU's first associate member," she said at the time.
How it will work and what it will contain is still unclear. And it is not even certain that Canada is interested.
"What we are looking for and will begin to discuss is a unique alliance with the EU. We share the same values, we have the same priorities and we have strengths that complement each other very well," Carney himself said at a press conference on Sunday before leaving for Europe, according to the AFP news agency.
Trade and music
Canada and the EU already have a far-reaching trade agreement, called Ceta - although not all EU countries have yet to finally approve it. Now there is talk of updating it to include AI issues and e-commerce. Canada has also already become the first non-EU country to join the new defense industry support SAFE.
Energy cooperation and critical raw materials will also likely be discussed, for example when Carney welcomes von der Leyen and Council President António Costa to a summit in Montreal at the end of October.
There is great enthusiasm in the EU Parliament.
Politically, it is difficult to find a bigger love affair than between the EU and Canada right now. We have everything to gain from this, says Tomas Tobé (M) at a Swedish press conference and jokes that the most important message has already been given.
They will be participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Tariff war with the US
Much is of course linked to Canada being drawn into a tariff war with the United States, which President Donald Trump claims has been "blown away by Canada for 50 years."
Trump's actions make the EU more attractive, not least when it comes to trade.
As long as we have a USA that has decided to close itself off from the outside world, conducts ineffective tariff wars and is unreliable... it is clear that not only the EU but many other countries must find more stable solutions, states Tomas Tobé.
Article 49 of the EU Treaty states that “Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 (on fundamental democratic values) . . . may apply to become a member.”
However, what is European is not determined. However, in 1987 an application from Morocco was rejected on the grounds that the country is geographically located in Africa and is not European enough.
On the other hand, Cyprus was admitted as a member in 2004, even though the island is geographically considered to be in Asia. When Denmark joined the EU in 1973, Greenland was also part of the EU until it voted to leave in 1985. Several French territories around the Caribbean and off Africa are also still part of the EU.
