WSJ: Canada exploring 'associate membership' in European Union

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to explore becoming an "associate member" of European Union as his country's relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump continues to deteriorate, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Citing anonymous officials from both Canada and the EU, the Journal reported the two sides are exploring the unprecedented option as Carney prepares to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday.

At that appearance he is expected to lay out how he sees the future of Canada-EU relations at a time when Trump is engaged in trade wars with the United States' closest allies, including Canada, and has questioned his northern neighbor's sovereignty by suggesting it become the "51st state."

The sources said Canada and Brussels are sorting out what an "associate" membership in the EU would look like, but the aim would be to accomplish a historic reorientation of Canada's trade away from the United States, which now consumes about 72% of its exports.

A potential deal could see fertilizer exported to Europe via the Arctic and the construction of new natural gas pipelines that could ease its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the Journal reported.

The European Commission did not issue a response to the Journal story, while Canadian broadcaster CTV cited an unnamed government source who claimed Canada is not seeking EU membership in any capacity and insisted the WSJ report "overstates" what is actually happening.

Rather, the source said, Ottawa is merely seeking to build on strides made at a joint Canadian-EU summit in June in which the two sides established a strategic partnership in key areas and agreed to cooperate in the ReArm Europe defense project.