Canada’s Carney stops short of endorsing von der Leyen’s associate member plan

STRASBOURG — Mark Carney used an address to the European Parliament to to sketch out what Ottawa would want from closer ties with the EU but declined to give full-throated approval of Ursula von der Leyen’s surprise “associate member” plan. Speaking a day after the Commission president floated the unique relationship status, the Canadian prime minister acknowledged the offer and instead of accepting it outright, listed potential individual areas of cooperation, including critical minerals, defense, AI, energy security, and space. He also called for more seamless digital trade in non-agricultural goods and services, as well as Canadian participation in Erasmus+, the EU's student exchange program.