A reimagined defence partnership: Canada as an associate member of the European Union

The PubAffairs analysis reports that von der Leyen called the proposal "not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength"[1]. It adds that Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed these statements in a speech to the European Parliament the next day.[1]The analysis also notes that "associate member" does not currently exist as a legal status under EU law, and that von der Leyen gave no details on how it might work in practice.[1] Euronews reports that MEP Javier Moreno Sánchez, who chairs the Parliament's delegation for relations with Canada, said the status "will gradually be defined from a legal point of view."[2]According to Euronews, Canada would integrate directly into Europe's defence industrial base and take part in joint Arctic projects.[2] Euronews adds that Canada wouldn't get voting rights in the European Parliament or a say in core EU laws.[2]The PubAffairs analysis says that Canada brings unique technological expertise in the AI, cyber, space, and Arctic domains.[1]The Council of the EU has said that Canada will be the first non-European country to take part in SAFE, the €150 billion defence instrument.[3]The think tank CEPS argues that the EU will need to set out the areas, rights and obligations involved if "associate membership" is to become more than a mere political slogan.[4]