▲ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the 16th (local time). (Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
The head of the European Union has proposed Canada become the EU's first-ever associate member.
During her annual State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on the 16th (local time), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told "special guest" Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, "I want us to open the door so Canada can become our very first associate member," expressing her determination to elevate relations with Canada to the highest possible level.
Von der Leyen's proposal to Canada comes as Canada and Europe, sharing anxieties over U.S. President Donald Trump's hostile tariff policies and security agenda centered strictly on American national interests, seek to strengthen cooperation in the economic and security realms.
Following the launch of the second Trump administration, Europe has been pressing for increased defense spending while publicizing a desire to acquire Greenland, creating divisions within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). To reduce security and trade dependence on the U.S., Europe is diversifying its cooperative ties with like-minded countries such as Canada.
Prime Minister Carney, who has consistently emphasized the need for a "middle powers alliance" against great power hegemony since the outset of the second Trump administration, has repeatedly stressed the necessity of building a "special alliance" with the EU. This follows a sharp deterioration in ties with the U.S. driven by escalating tariff wars and Trump's repeated threatening remarks about "incorporating Canada as the 51st U.S. state."
Members of the European Parliament filling the plenary chamber and officials from the European Commission responded to von der Leyen's proposal with a warm standing ovation, while Prime Minister Carney nodded with a smile in acknowledgment.
Visiting the European Parliament as an invited guest to observe von der Leyen's annual address, Prime Minister Carney is scheduled to deliver a speech to the European Parliament at the same venue on the 17th.
Foreign media noted that Prime Minister Carney is the first foreign leader in history to be invited to the EU chief's annual address.
In her annual address, von der Leyen repeatedly emphasized that in an increasingly unstable world, Europe must secure its sovereignty and independence across economic, technological, and military dimensions.
The address also touched upon the trade imbalance with China, another hegemon that has dealt a heavy blow to European industries.
Mentioning the astronomical reality that the EU currently runs a daily deficit of 1 billion euros (approximately 1.6 trillion won) in trade with China, she stressed, "We will use all available tools to rebalance our trade relationship with China."
She also presented a blueprint to establish an EU-level body to support the securing and stockpiling of critical raw materials, aiming to overcome a situation where roughly 90% of certain rare earths are currently supplied by China.
Marking four and a half years since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, she pointed to an increase in drone incursions, sabotage, and cyberattacks across Europe suspected of being orchestrated by Russia, stressing the need for a NATO-like "hybrid threat response guideline" to counter them.
Climate change and artificial intelligence (AI) were also major topics.
Von der Leyen stated, "Europe's future prosperity and security will largely depend on how we manage the 'tipping points' of climate change and AI." She promised to formulate new measures to tackle the deadly heatwaves that struck Europe this summer, position the EU at the forefront of AI technology development, and help moderate the pace of AI advancement.
Regarding climate measures, she announced plans to establish a "climate insurance coalition," noting that while global warming increases the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods, and wildfires, only a quarter of disaster losses are currently covered by private insurance, placing a growing burden on state budgets.
She also unveiled a plan to designate and manage the 100 most disaster-vulnerable regions within the EU.
Additionally, she stated that the EU would join the global regulatory momentum on youth social media use by completely banning social media access for children under 13, while allowing 13- to 15-year-olds to use supervised "mini-accounts" managed by guardians.
She emphasized, "We do not need to accept addictive features, we do not need to tolerate children sliding into increasingly extreme content, and there is no reason to tolerate pictures of young girls being weaponized into AI-generated sexual images."
Prompted by an incident last July where over 70,000 Moroccan migrants suddenly swarmed across the border into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta in a single day, she also announced plans to propose an emergency response tool to help the 27 member states more effectively cope with large-scale migrant influxes.
The European Commission President's annual State of the Union address, modeled after the U.S. President's State of the Union, is an occasion to outline policy priorities for the upcoming year. Initiated in 2010 by former Commission President José Manuel Barroso, it has established itself as one of the EU's premier annual events.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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