EU rolls out red carpet to Canada as first 'associate member'

BRUSSELS — The European Union is proposing a new kind of relationship with Canada, one that could make it the EU's first-ever "associate member" — a model that does not currently exist.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the proposal Wednesday during her annual State of the Union address , with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sitting in the European Parliament as her special guest.

"Dear Mark," von der Leyen said, "Europe and Canada believe in democracy, that power does not belong to the strongest, richest and loudest, but to all of us."

And adding the key phrase to her prepared remarks, seen by NPR, which did not include it, von der Leyen went on: "I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union."