European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union was opening the door for ‌Canada ⁠to ⁠become its first associate member – a position that the bloc would have to create from scratch.

Von der Leyen’s comments came during her annual speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, while Candanian Prime Minister Mark Carney was in attendance.

This comes days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Carney was exploring an ‘associate membership’ with the bloc, a position that does not currently exist. 

Earlier this week, Carney responded to the story, saying he sought a ‘unique alliance’ with the bloc and not a membership. 

“Partnerships are a ​strategic ‌choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture ‌in the international rules-based system,” ‌Von ​der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union ​address.

“We see the world with the same ⁠eyes: ​from AI ​to climate change, from the Arctic ​to geopolitics. And ‌we have stood together: on Ukraine, on ​defence, ⁠on raw materials and on supply chains. ⁠But ​above all … Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” she said.

The EU and Canada, which have already grown close amid conflicts and trade wars, are looking to partner with each other to diversify from China and the United States respectively. 

An ‘openly hostile world’

Von der Leyen called for an independent European Union amid an ‘openly hostile world’, in her speech on Wednesday. 

‘‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – this is how British author Charles Dickens described Europe in the days of the French Revolution, and it is also a fair description of the world we live in,” she said, beginning her address.

“The state of our union is the strongest it has ever been. The state of our union can also feel as precarious as it has ever been,” she said.  

Von der Leyen warned against ‘an openly hostile world’ and ‘frayed relationships’ while speaking of Russia’s war against Ukraine and not directly mentioning the EU’s increasingly strained relationship with the US.

“A territorial war ‌of aggression is ‌raging ​on our continent; others have erupted nearby. A ​fight for industrial capacities is shaping ⁠global ​competition. And ​a battle of ​narratives is seeking ‌to weaken confidence in ​Europe,” ⁠Von der Leyen said.

DW