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EU Floats Canada Becoming the Bloc's First 'Associate Member'

83 points · 170 comments · helsinkiandrew

  1. rapnie · · focus · HN ↗
    The other day in a Dutch geopolitics podcast (Boekestijn en de Wijk) it was mentioned that if there's one country that could be added to the EU "at the stroke of a pen", it would be Canada. In terms of state of the democracy, shared values, etc. And I agree with that perspective. But at the same time I thought that if there's one way to get into conflict with the current US administration - who declared EU their only adversary in the US National Security Plan - this is it. It would be like a mirror image of Russia feeling encroached by NATO, but then in the Western hemisphere. And perhaps a red cloth invitation to the frothing bull(ies) of the Trump administration to invade their neighbor.
    1. gizajob · · focus · HN ↗
      This “at the stroke of the pen” idea is fantastical. Actual Canadians would have next to no interest in this. Whole provinces of Canada don’t even want to be part of Canada so their appetite for having the EU parliament and Commission anywhere near them would be slim to none. Having 250million Europeans eligible to migrate to Canada would similarly be dead in the water even if a few people in Toronto and Quebec might warm to the idea of going the other way.
      1. ocd · · focus · HN ↗
        This is not really true. It's an extreme fringe minority in Canada that is massively misrepresented in US media, and largely propagated by AI bots.
        1. gizajob · · focus · HN ↗

          [dead]

          1. defrost · · focus · HN ↗
            It was the same way with Australia becoming eligible to enter the Eurovision Song Contest, .. and yet here we are today with that thoroughly normalised.
            1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

              [deleted]

          2. Tomte · · focus · HN ↗
            Months ago: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theglobeandmail.com&#x2F;politics&#x2F;article-canadians-support-becoming-member-european-union-nanos-poll&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theglobeandmail.com&#x2F;politics&#x2F;article-canadians-s...
      2. rapnie · · focus · HN ↗
        The context in the podcast was that EU was too picky in their reform criteria for inclusion for current candidates on the European continent, but that Canada as a modern country would sail past and pass the exam. The ease with which these experts concluded it would make sense for Canada to join struck me, because impact on geopolitical relationship with US was imho too easily overlooked. It is a sentiment I hear more often now, in the news.
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