U.S. President Donald Trump had described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as "laughable."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday welcomed the European Union's ambition to make Ottawa an associate member of the 27-nation bloc and said Canadian lawmakers would ultimately vote on the final structure of the alliance.
"Canada and Europe are each strong. Europe and Canada are stronger together," Carney told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.
Canada's prime minister did not name President Donald Trump in his speech, but he nodded to his U.S. counterpart's use of tariffs by saying: "Economic integration is now being weaponized - tariffs being used to exert pressure."
Speaking in French, Carney continued: "Financial mechanisms have been used for coercion. Supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited."
His comments come shortly after Trump described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as "laughable" and threatened the bloc with tariffs if he deemed the move to be a "hostile act."
Speaking to reporters in North Carolina, Trump called Canada a "terrible trade partner" and said the U.S. could even "stop trading with Europe on many things" if the EU moves ahead with its plan. "If it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe," Trump said.
The Trump administration recently increased tariffs on Canadian goods, prompting Canada to respond with levies of its own. Carney has pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods dollar for dollar.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the 27-nation bloc wanted to bring the relationship with Canada "to the highest level possible."
Addressing Carney, who was in attendance for the EU chief's state of the union speech, Von der Leyen said she would like to work with him "on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union."
Associate membership doesn't currently exist as a formal category under EU treaties, and any such arrangement would need to be created and ratified by member states.
"This alliance is a positive process; that's my response to the American president. A stronger, more resilient, more sovereign Canada will be a more effective partner with the United States," Carney told reporters in a news conference shortly after his speech.
"Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no one is going to dictate our culture or with whom we can strike agreements internationally," he added.
The EU has previously been reluctant to entertain the prospect of flexible membership categories, notably when earlier in the year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed for the EU to consider associate membership for Ukraine.
Nonetheless, Von der Leyen's backing for Canada to receive associate membership with the EU signals a major deepening of ties between Ottawa and Brussels and comes at a time when Canada is locked in a bitter trade war with the U.S.
Asked whether Canadian lawmakers would be able to debate and vote on the future relationship between Canada and the EU, Carney said: "Of course, there will be debates, plural, not just a single debate, and there will be a vote in the Canadian parliament. Absolutely, that is clear, but at this particular juncture, we are at the start of a road."
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via CNBC Top News.
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