Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the “ambitiousness” of European Council President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to invite Canada to be the first “associate member” of the European Union, and he was not the only one to react.
Leaders, heads of state and officials from across the European Union continue to respond to the proposal for closer ties with Canada.
Spanish President Pedro Sanchez posted the European Union flag — 12 gold stars on a blue field — on his social media account on Thursday, with one notable addition. The flag had a bright red Canadian maple leaf on the left side.
European Parliament President Roberta Mizzola welcomed Canada’s “leadership” in helping to build the “next chapter” in the relationship.
“The world is changing. Together, we can build what comes next,” Mitsola said, describing Canada and the European Union as “allies and friends.”
Aside from critical minerals, energy and defense equipment, one of Canada’s most famous exports was also on the floor of the European Parliament on Wednesday – the TV show “Hot Competition.”
“You have green hydrogen to keep us warm, you have maple syrup to keep us happy, and hot competition to keep us entertained,” German MEP Damian Boeselager said.
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“You’ve got Putin, the Mounties, Celine Dion, Leonard Cohen, and of course every famous Ryan or Justin I can think of,” he added.
Boeselger joked that Canada and the European Union are formalizing their “long-distance relationship” and added that Canada will never be the 51st country.street In reference to US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to annex Canada.
“Long live Lake Ontario,” he said in another criticism of Trump, who signed an executive order — which has no authority over the rest of the world — that the United States would name the body of water “Lake America.”
He added: “We recently went through a bad breakup with the British, and you seem to be going through a difficult phase with the United States, so we are clearly open to something new.”
Terje Reintke, co-chair of the Green Party in the European Parliament, wore a Team Canada hockey jersey on the floor as Carney addressed MEPs.
She later posted a photo with Carney while wearing the shirt with the caption: “Welcome to BIENVENUE CANADA.”
German MEP Bernd Lange proposed “Swiss-style economic integration” between Canada and the bloc.
“The Swiss-style economic integration model may be possible, but it must go further at the political level,” Lange said in a statement after his meeting with Carney.
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, but has partial access to the European single market as a result of free trade agreements.
However, Lange suggested that Canada participate in EU consultations, including having observers in the European Parliament.
“We need real participation, not just another summit,” he said.
In her speech, von der Leyen said Canada and the European Union have already increased their trade volume by 75 per cent in less than a decade since the signing of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
While the trade agreement has been implemented tentatively, it has not yet been fully ratified like some EU member states It still needs to ratify the agreement in its individual legislatures.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia are the countries that have not yet ratified CETA.
Irish Member of Parliament Regina Doherty called on her government to ratify the agreement.
“In a world of increasing uncertainty, Europe cannot stand idly by while others make decisions. Building closer ties with Canada is absolutely the right approach. Ireland must play its part and finally ratify a comprehensive free trade deal now,” she said.
While von der Leyen said the EU’s deepening relationship with Canada is “not against anyone else,” Czech MEP Tomas Zdichowski criticized Trump several times, referring to him as “a bull in a china shop.”
Zdechovsky posted several AI-generated images welcoming Canada into a deeper alliance, including one photo of an angry Trump surrounded by people waving EU and Canadian flags.
“Trump is angry. Europe and Canada are laughing. This suits me,” he said in a post on social media.
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