Canada Joins EU as First Associate Member

"Wouldn't it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?" asked Finland's President Alexander Stubb this summer. #REAL Truth The European Union offered Canada the chance to become its first “associate member” in history Well, I suppose “Europe” is more of a state of mind anyway… After Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Toronto on Sunday that he was looking to form a “unique alliance” with the 27-nation union, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen seems to have come back with just the thing, yesterday opening the door to the idea of making Canada its first “associate member.” That is, it must be said, an atypically laissez-faire approach to membership from the European bloc. If Carney were to take up the offer and push ahead to become the inaugural EU associate nation, it would mark a new way of getting into the club; somewhere between fully-fledged membership (which nine separate countries are currently seeking) and the less formal associations and agreements that other nations have struck up in various à la carte approaches to diplomatic and trading relations. Australian ministers presumably wait with bated breath to see how things will unfold. Setting aside these North American and Antipodean hopeful associates, Europeans have felt more positive about the EU in recent years, as geopolitical and economic instability around the world makes the idea of “safety in numbers” feel, perhaps, safer. #Topic of War https://www.bbc.com/news/..