Announcement regarding Canada as a potential EU associate member is political and vague - expert

RIGA - The announcement regarding Canada’s possible status as an associate member of the European Union (EU) is currently only political in nature, and it is unclear what that would entail, Maris Andzans, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies and associate professor at Riga Stradins University, told LETA, commenting on remarks made by European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen on the matter.

He emphasized that von der Leyen’s remarks were purely political, since there is currently no such legal status as an EU associate member state, and it is unclear what that would entail.

In Andzans’ view, this can be explained solely by the trade war between the U.S. and Canada - specifically, the trade tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada and Canada’s retaliatory measures. The expert noted that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made no secret of his desire to strengthen ties with the EU wherever possible.

Following von der Leyen’s statement, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on the EU if it allowed Canada to become an associate member of the EU. Andzans notes that Trump has always been vocal in his statements against his allies, especially Canada, which is why Canada must find ways to diversify its trade relations. The EU is clearly one of the most like-minded partners at the moment, said Andzans.

He added that Canada is also a NATO member and shares security and defense interests with the EU.

The expert believes that such a statement could have been a signal to Trump that Canada is welcome in the EU, although this does not immediately imply membership.

At present, there are questions about what will happen to the European Economic Area, as well as questions regarding EU candidate countries, including Ukraine, he noted.

Andzans emphasized that in order to legally establish a specific status for Canada within the EU, the founding treaties would need to be amended, and this would most likely take several years.

Overall, the expert believes that during the Trump presidency, Canada will only grow closer to the EU and drift further away from the U.S. Canada will also become more involved in the EU’s political and security processes, but this will not be on a legal basis, Andzans said.

As previously reported, von der Leyen stated on Wednesday that Canada could become the EU’s first associate member, although such a status does not yet exist.

The EC President noted that Europe can no longer rely on a rules-based international system as the sole means of safeguarding its interests or assume that its rules will protect Europe from threats. She emphasized that Europe must rebuild its partnerships and form global coalitions to strengthen resilience and democracy.