EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says she wants Canada to become the bloc's 1st associate member

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed making Canada the European Union’s first associate member, a striking overture as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs drive Ottawa closer to Europe.

Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state have pushed Canada to seek closer economic and security ties with Europe. Roughly 70% of Canadian exports go to the United States, and Carney has called for a “unique alliance” with the EU as Canada seeks to reduce that dependence.

“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada being the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during her annual State of the European Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Carney nodded, rose from his seat, embraced von der Leyen and kissed her on both cheeks as lawmakers gave a standing ovation. He is due to address the Parliament on Thursday.

A Canadian official familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press last week that Ottawa was exploring ties with the EU that could stop just short of membership. The official said Canada would seek an arrangement allowing its citizens to live and work in Europe without visas as part of a broader strategic partnership.

Carney’s office welcomed von der Leyen’s proposal, saying Canada was deepening ties with the EU “to strengthen our sovereignty” and supported a move beyond their existing free trade agreement, known as CETA, to what she called an “Alliance for the Future.”

Von der Leyen said the broader alliance would aim to create “a common prosperity and economic security space.”

She cast that closer relationship as rooted not just in trade but in shared democratic values.

“Above all, dear Mark, Europe and Canada believe in democracy,” von der Leyen said to Carney, who sat in the front row to her left.

“We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest, but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.”

Von der Leyen said the expanded partnership would cover advanced manufacturing, technology, defense production, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity and economic security.

“This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” she said. “In short, we want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible.”

However, she gave no details of how the associate membership would work or how it would fit with the other countries negotiating full membership of the bloc.

Canada this year became the first non-European country to join the EU’s 150-billion-euro ($173-billion) SAFE defense program, giving Canadian companies access to joint procurement.

Iratxe García Pérez, president of the Socialists & Democrats group in the European Parliament, praised Carney for showing “great courage confronting Donald Trump” and said allies were needed to defend “sovereignty, solidarity and international law.”

Carney said Tuesday that economic integration, once viewed largely as an asset, is increasingly “being used as a weapon by certain countries.” On Tuesday he said discussions would ramp up at the Canada-EU summit in Montreal in late October.

Canada has retaliated against U.S. tariffs and rejected trade terms Carney says would weaken its sovereignty.

The EU has taken a different course with Washington, reaching a trade agreement that set a 15% U.S. tariff ceiling on the vast majority of EU exports while Europe eliminated tariffs on U.S. industrial goods.

That contrast has loomed over Carney’s push for closer European ties. In a closely watched speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, he urged middle powers to work together to increase their leverage in an era of great-power rivalry.

“When we only negotiate bilaterally with a hegemon, we negotiate from weakness. We accept what is offered,” Carney said.

“This is not sovereignty,” he said. “It is the performance of sovereignty while accepting subordination.”

Carney’s Davos speech on middle powers in January drew a personal rebuke from Trump, and von der Leyen's overture to America’s neighbor could raise the temperature again.

Barry Andrews, chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, called Canada “a perfect ally for Europe” and said closer ties could bring particular benefits for Ireland, noting that more than 10% of Canadians claim Irish ancestry.

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Associated Press writer Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, at the annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Sept 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for the annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Sept 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, listens to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during the annual State of the European Union at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Sept 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pascal Bastien)

Formula 1 plans to open the 2027 season in Bahrain even as uncertainty remains over this year’s races in the Middle East.

F1 released a 24-race schedule for 2027 on Wednesday starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 14 and then Saudi Arabia a week later, with events also scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. All have long-term contracts to host F1 and Bahrain also hosts preseason testing in February.

Races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off this year due to the Iran war. An extra race in Malaysia next month will have Bahrain Grand Prix branding.

The Qatar Grand Prix on Nov. 29 and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 6 remain on the schedule. F1 has considered a change to Europe if they can't go ahead but tickets remain on sale for both races.

Bahrain has opened most F1 seasons in recent years and was only moved from that position in 2025 and 2026 because of a clash with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Next year’s schedule avoids clashes with two other auto racing highlights, the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and the Le Mans 24-hour race on June 12-13. F1 scheduled races on the same days as both this year. Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has said he wants to race at Le Mans in future.

F1 is also expanding from six to 10 sprint races in 2027, including a first at the Monaco Grand Prix, where overtaking is almost impossible.

A sprint is also scheduled for the season-opening race in Bahrain. That would mark the first time an F1 season has begun with a short-format race before the first Grand Prix of the year.

F1 said race weekends that featured sprint races attracted an average viewership that was 12% higher than those without sprints. By increasing their number, F1 is “giving our fans even more intensity, drama, and the wheel-to-wheel action that make our sport so special,” chief executive Stefano Domenicali said.

F1 returns to Portugal in June for the first time since 2021 as the Portimao circuit replaces the Dutch Grand Prix, while the Turkish Grand Prix is also back in October 2027 after signing a five-year contract in April.

There will be no race at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona for the first time since 1990. It lost the title of Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid this year but stayed on under Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix branding. It will now alternate with the Belgian Grand Prix and next returns in 2028.

There was no indication Wednesday that F1 is any closer to calling off or moving the Qatar or Abu Dhabi races.

Among potential alternatives in Europe, a season-ending race at Italy’s Imola circuit is widely considered the likeliest option. Domenicali indicated in July that a decision could come in mid-September.

The races in the Middle East are especially valuable for F1 and its teams. They contribute large hosting fees to F1, while Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco and Qatar Airways are major sponsors for the series.

Next week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be the closest F1 has been to Iran since the outbreak of the war earlier this year. Azerbaijan shares a land border with Iran.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem defended the wait for confirmation on this year’s races in an interview this month with The Associated Press, arguing F1 was right not to “jump the gun” on deciding.

“Are we going to allow our people, our staff, the drivers or the teams to go at risk? No, of course not. We will not,” he added.

Speculation over possible changes to this year’s Qatar and Abu Dhabi races heightened this week as Formula 2, which is due to support F1 in both venues, added an extra race to its schedule next week in Azerbaijan. F2 said it would still race in Qatar and Abu Dhabi with a “usual weekend format.”

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, center, leads the field after the start of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix race in Madrid, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)