Earlier this year, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested Canada could become an “associate member”. Much discussion ensured, including criticism of the proposal. EU member states continue to object to the term ahead of the bloc’s summit with Canada this week, although they also say they back more ambitious ties.
But the particular terminology, or even the idea of membership for a non-European country, should not distract European policymakers. Instead, they should place the idea in the longer history of ever-closer union. They should consider such partnerships a step towards building “global communities” that span not just the Atlantic Ocean but bring together powers around the world.
The EU needs global partners. It needs them in order to diversify its economy, secure its supply chains and provide public goods that include security, the fight against climate change and digital sovereignty. It also needs reliable allies to work with to defend multilateralism and international law when no one else will. Although defeatism is everywhere all at once in European circles, the EU is still perceived favourably around the world. In many countries I have visited in recent years—from India, Brazil and South Africa, to Japan and South Korea, the EU is named as an imperfect defender of the rules-based order and the only “other” powerful economy that may set some rules. Those rules might be selectively applied, and Europeans will still receive criticism for double standards. But the bloc can indeed play an important role in balancing the great power competition between America and China. This is why Canadian prime minister Mark Carney describes the EU as integral to his idea of the middle power alliance. In fact, it is central to making it work.
The geopolitical rupture the world is living through has already encouraged the EU to look outward. Its institutions are currently working hard to develop two key streams of relations: free trade agreements, and security and defence partnerships. The current conversation with Canada follows a recent wave of trade agreements, including long-awaited deals with India and Mercosur. The newly established format of security and defence partnerships signed with 12 countries since 2022 includes Canada, Britain and Norway, and present a new arena of collaboration. Such agreements enable not only discussions about the defence industry and the building up of military forces, but also cyber and hybrid threats and maritime and space security. The two streams together constitute the basis for a global conversation.
The EU and Canada: A multifaceted conversation of global partnership
The discussions taking place between Canada and the EU are well advanced and respond to the needs of both sides. Canada’s turn towards Europe forms part of its recent wider efforts to strengthen its sovereignty by reorientating its economy. The Canadian government, and even Canadian society, have decided that excessive dependency on their powerful neighbour is indeed dangerous.[1] Ottawa wants more destinations for Canadian exports, and more investment in strategic industries, including energy and critical raw materials. Its stated ambition is to double exports to markets outside the United States over the next decade. Europe’s economic scale makes it an indispensable partner in this endeavour.
In his September address to the European Parliament, Carney welcomed the ambition behind “associate membership” but described an alliance that Canada and the EU would shape together. He emphasised that the relationship should be defined around “shared capabilities and complementary strengths”. Indeed, recent fieldwork in Canada demonstrated to me that Canadians care more about the deliverables than the format. Canadians’ first priority is not necessarily to integrate into the EU’s single market and align with its regulations.[2] This is the core difference between the EU’s partnership with Canada and its existing arrangements with non-members like Norway, Iceland and Turkey. These EU neighbours are effectively part of an extended continental project. The Canadian case is different. But it can point the way to something global.
The EU-Canada summit is set to focus on a range of issues, from critical raw materials, energy and connectivity, to digital trade, youth mobility and research—all of which can make for a more resilient global relationship. The breadth of this agenda matters: Canada wants to help build the technologies and supply chains on which both partners depend, as well as secure access to the European market in the long run. Canada has shown interest in agreeing common standards and practical regulatory cooperation where these help firms, researchers and citizens work across the Atlantic. The two sides have already pledged to identify opportunities to upgrade the existing EU-Canada comprehensive economic and trade agreement to incorporate digital trade. This is a more resilient relationship that goes beyond the logic of a free trade agreement. It opens a more visionary way of thinking about the global portfolio of partnerships: the EU’s partnerships 2.0, which can be a step towards “global communities”.
What the EU could offer
The EU’s ambitions on climate change, digital sovereignty and defence all require secure supplies of critical raw materials, energy and industrial capacity. The EU regards Canada as a source of many of these vital inputs. In turn, Europe can offer investment, processing and manufacturing capacity, research networks and market scale. The opportunity is to build value chains together: Canadian critical raw materials processed into products, for example, rather than a relationship confined to the shipments of materials. For this week’s summit, a clear push to increase people-to-people contacts is already visible, opening up space for scientific research and cooperation. Canada already joined Pillar II of Horizon Europe in 2024. The leaked summit declaration suggests that Canada will start negotiating its participation in Erasmus+.
Some of the pieces are already in place, including a Strategic Partnership Agreement and Security and Defence Partnership agreed in 2025. Canada has since become the first non-European country to participate in the EU’s defence procurement instrument, SAFE. It also took part in the European Political Community meeting in Armenia, as the first non-European invitee.
The EU should turn these strands into a partnership that can become exemplary in building global communities. It could offer a clear route for joint investments in mineral extraction and processing, clean energy and defence production; advance the digital trade negotiations; and give Canadian researchers and young people more access to European programmes. Regular political meetings could connect these projects to decisions at the highest level, while a joint business council could identify obstacles to investment and report on whether commitments are being delivered. These would give substance to the partnership without requiring the EU to settle the legal meaning of “associate membership” first. The EU is not a middle power per se: it is the third biggest economic bloc in the world. It has the power to build these partnerships around the logic of a community, starting with Canada.
“Global communities” under construction
In “Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945”, Tony Judt writes: “what had once seemed permanent and somehow inevitable would take on a more transient air.” That air of change once again surrounds the European continent. This time, however, its reach is global. Facing the decline of the historic alliance that guaranteed their continent’s security but also led to many multilateral efforts in providing public goods, Europeans are looking for ways to guarantee what matters most.
Globalisation and decades of building partnerships have bestowed a certain savviness on the EU to think creatively. Weaponisation of trade and supply chains; the fight against climate change; the erosion of democracy and the rule of law—all are problems no single state can solve alone. If there is to be a global coalition to lead these efforts, this coalition will have to have the EU and its member states at the centre. The key question is not whether the relationship with Canada is termed “associate membership”, but whether it becomes a step towards building “global communities”.
About the author
Ilke Toygür is an ECFR Council Member and the director of the Global Policy Center and professor of practice of European politics at the School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs at IE University.