Canadian Prime Minister Carney welcomed the European Union’s ambition to make Ottawa an associate member and said Canadian lawmakers would ultimately vote on the final structure of the alliance. …Carney did not name President Trump in his speech, but he nodded to his US counterpart’s use of tariffs by saying, “Economic integration is now being weaponized — tariffs being used to exert pressure.” …His comments come shortly after Trump described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as “laughable” and threatened the bloc with tariffs if he deemed the move to be a “hostile act.” …European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the 27-nation bloc wanted to bring the relationship with Canada “to the highest level possible.” …Associate membership doesn’t currently exist as a formal category under EU treaties, and any such arrangement would need to be created and ratified by member states.

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