The European Parliament president suggests that Australia and New Zealand could potentially follow Canada in becoming "associate members" of the European Union. This proposal, initially floated by the European Commission president, would allow for closer regulatory alignment and increased access to parts of the single market but faces political opposition in Ottawa. The president highlights existing deep relationships between Australia, New Zealand, and the EU through trade deals and conversations on shared issues such as social media regulation and critical minerals alliances.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the prospect of Canada becoming the first "associate member" of the European Union.
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Canada → welcome → Union
Mr Carney spoke at the European Parliament a day after the European Commission president floated the idea of a closer association between Canada and the EU.
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president → speak → Canada
While the 27 members of the EU would have to agree on the plan for associate membership, Australia and New Zealand could follow, the European Parliament president suggested.
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president → have → membership
Australia and New Zealand could follow Canada in becoming "associate members" of the European Union, the president of the European Parliament has suggested.
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president → follow → Parliament
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU in her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.
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Canada → raise → Wednesday
Short of full membership of the trading bloc, an "associate membership" status does not yet exist but could mean closer regulatory alignment, access to some parts of the single market and participation in some EU programmes.
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status → trade → programmes
But European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hinted Australia and New Zealand could explore a similar path to Canada.
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Australia → hint → Canada
"There are countries with which we want to deepen our relationship," Ms Metsola told Europe Today.
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Metsola → be → Today
"I don't doubt that it will include other countries, and others will come knocking at our door.
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others → doubt → door
"In such times of uncertainty, having friends matters."
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having → have → friends
Ms Metsola said Australia and New Zealand, which both have trade deals with the EU, are examples of deep relationships.
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which → say → relationships
"We're doing it in terms of trade; we're doing it in terms of conversation on what we do with social media, with children, with critical minerals, alliances that can be forged," she said.
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she → do → alliances
The ABC has contacted the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment.
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ABC → contact → comment
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the proposal of closer ties with the EU, saying Europe and Canada were stronger together and should deepen ties to protect their citizens' prosperity.
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Europe → welcome → prosperity
Earlier, US President Donald Trump derided Ms von der Leyen's overtures to Canada as "laughable" and said he would hit Europe with further tariffs if he deemed the proposal hostile.
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proposal → deride → tariffs
Europe and Canada are even stronger together," Mr Carney told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg.
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Carney → tell → Strasbourg
"I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival — only with better manners.
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I → propose → manners
"We do not seek power to dominate others.
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We → seek → others
"On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law."
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one → pursue → law
Both the EU and Canada have been facing stiff rivalry and pressure from Mr Trump's administration on trade, among other matters, and from an increasingly assertive China.
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EU → face → China
Trump threatens Europe with tariffs
Mr Trump threatened late on Wednesday to take action against the EU if it moves forward with Ms von der Leyen's proposal of associate membership for Canada.
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it → threaten → Canada
"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," Mr Trump told reporters en route to an event in North Carolina, calling the proposal "laughable".
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Trump → do → proposal
The European Commission said Ms von der Leyen's proposal — which is yet to be fleshed out and will need to be approved by EU member states to go forward — was not a hostile act.
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which → say → states
"As our President (von der Leyen) made clear yesterday, the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength," Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson, said.
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Gill → make → strength
Carney seeks to strengthen ties with Europe
Speaking in the European Parliament, Mr Carney made clear he, like the EU, sought deeper ties.
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sought → seek → ties
"We are not fair-weather allies," he said.
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he → say → ?
"We believe that our prosperity grows when it is shared.
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it → believe → ?
It is collective resilience."
And referring to Ms von der Leyen's proposal, he added: "We welcome this ambition".
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We → refer → ambition
Among areas in which Mr Carney said Canada would want closer ties with the EU he mentioned seeking strategic autonomy through deep cooperation in critical minerals, defence industrial capacity, AI and computing, energy security, space, and payments.
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he → say → minerals
He also mentioned digital trade and building more secure broadband connections between Europe and Asia via their common geography.
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He → mention → geography
The Aporia
