EU News

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has welcomed the EU’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first ‘associate member’, despite threats from Donald Trump over the plan. The US president said Washington could impose ‘very serious tariffs’ or halt trade if the EU went ahead with the idea. But in a defiant speech to the European parliament, Carney called for ‘deep cooperation’ and said polling showed the overwhelming majority of Canadians supported closer ties with Europe. Lucy Hough speaks to Europe correspondent Jon Henley – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Mark Carney’s response to the challenges posed by an unreliable US president contains a clarity of vision that is lacking in post-Brexit BritainThere is no “associate membership” of the European Union, nor any blueprint for what such a thing might involve. It is a political hypothesis, describing a relationship of intimate strategic alignment with the EU, stopping short of actual membership, in ways that are significant but undefined.This week, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, invited Canada to be the first country to enjoy this putative status. In her state of the union speech, she spoke of a future relationship elevated “to the highest level possible”, reflecting an affinity of interests and values. Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, reciprocated the sentiment in a speech on Wednesday. Addressing the European parliament, he said the two sides should secure “strategic autonomy through deep cooperation” across a broad spectrum of interests: trade, defence, industrial capacity, science, space and AI. He proposed Canadian participation in the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme and Horizon research scheme.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Ireland joins joins Dutch broadcaster in refusing to take part in 2027 song contest, in second consecutive year of protestsIreland is to boycott Eurovision for the second year running over the “appalling” ongoing killing in Gaza, the national broadcaster has said.Ireland was one of five countries, along with Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia, that refused to take part in the competition this year in protest against Israel’s participation. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedMeanwhile, we are getting some interesting lines from Paris that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, convened the chiefs ⁠of ⁠the ​different political parties to discuss the ​crises ‌in ‌the Middle East ‌and Ukraine and their consequences on the energy market.The meeting will ‌be held on Friday morning at 10:30am local time on Thursday (that’s 9:30am UK) and military and intelligence officers will share ⁠the information they have ​provided to ​Macron, his ​office said ​in ‌a ​statement. Continue reading...

Although Mark Carney welcomed offer to become bloc’s first associate member, no one seems to know what that meansEurope live – latest updatesMark Carney received a rapturous reception in the European parliament when he gave his speech on Thursday welcoming a proposal for Canada to become the EU’s first-ever associate member.Politicians queued to shake his hand and take selfies. One described the speech as a historic moment. “Europe has extended a hand, and Canada has taken it,” said the German Green MEP Terry Reintke, who borrowed a Canadian ice hockey shirt for the occasion. Continue reading...