EU chief opens door for Canada to become ‘associate member’

欧盟主席为加拿大成为“准成员国”敞开大门

The president of the European Commission has backed proposals for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member”. 欧盟委员会主席已支持有关加拿大成为欧盟首个“准成员国”的提议。

Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday she wanted to work on “opening the door” for Canada, which would involve closer ties on various key sectors. 乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩周三在欧洲议会表示，她希望致力于为加拿大“敞开大门”，这将涉及在多个关键领域建立更紧密的联系。

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last week spoke of seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU. The country currently faces tense relations with the US, compounded by an intensifying dispute over trade. 加拿大总理马克·卡尼上周谈到寻求与欧盟建立“独特的联盟”。该国目前正面临与美国紧张的关系，而贸易争端的加剧使局势更加复杂。

Without mentioning US President Donald Trump by name, von der Leyen said offering Canada some sort of EU membership was “not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength”. She added: “Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system”. 冯德莱恩在未点名美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的情况下表示，向加拿大提供某种形式的欧盟成员资格“并非针对任何人的伙伴关系，而是为了我们共同的力量”。她补充道：“伙伴关系是欧洲的战略选择，但它们也是对国际基于规则体系出现裂痕的回应。”

Carney was in attendance at the annual key note speech in Strasbourg, and is due to address the parliament on Thursday. 卡尼出席了在斯特拉斯堡举行的年度主题演讲，并定于周四在议会发表讲话。

Trade talks between Canada and the US collapsed last month, sparking a series of new tariff measures. Trump’s repeated talk of making Canada a “51st state” has also helped to fuel the feud between the North American neighbours. 加拿大与美国之间的贸易谈判上个月破裂，引发了一系列新的关税措施。特朗普多次扬言要让加拿大成为“第51个州”，这也助长了这两个北美邻国之间的矛盾。

Von der Leyen told the EU’s State of the Union address that the bloc and Canada “see the world with the same eyes”, including on topics ranging from AI, to climate change and geopolitics. 冯德莱恩在欧盟“盟情咨文”演讲中表示，欧盟与加拿大“以同样的眼光看待世界”，包括从人工智能到气候变化和地缘政治等议题。

“And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains. But above all… Europe and Canada believe in democracy.” “我们始终站在一起：在乌克兰问题、国防、原材料和供应链方面。但最重要的是……欧洲和加拿大都信仰民主。”

She did not give specific details on how any Canadian membership would work, but listed manufacturing, technology, AI, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security as key areas for cooperation. 她没有给出加拿大成员资格将如何运作的具体细节，但列举了制造业、技术、人工智能、国防、能源、关键矿产和经济安全作为合作的关键领域。

Both she and other European leaders have found a reliable ally in Carney as they deal with similar problems. 在处理类似问题时，她和其他欧洲领导人都发现卡尼是一位可靠的盟友。

In particular, they have faced Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs and his threat to annex Greenland which is a sovereign territory of EU member Denmark. 特别是，他们面临着特朗普咄咄逼人的关税政策，以及他威胁要吞并作为欧盟成员国丹麦主权领土的格陵兰岛。

But “associate membership” of the EU does not currently exist and the process, if agreed, could take years. 但欧盟目前并不存在“准成员国”身份，如果达成一致，这一进程可能需要数年时间。

Earlier this year, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested - to a mixed reaction - that Ukraine could be granted this new status. 今年早些时候，德国总理弗里德里希·默茨曾建议给予乌克兰这一新地位，但引发了褒贬不一的反应。

Some countries in the western Balkans including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are already on the long road towards full EU membership. 包括阿尔巴尼亚、波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那、黑山、北马其顿和塞尔维亚在内的一些西巴尔干国家，已经在通往欧盟正式成员资格的漫长道路上。

In Eastern Europe, Georgia and Moldova are also applying. 在东欧，格鲁吉亚和摩尔多瓦也在申请加入。

Ten of the bloc’s 27 members are yet to ratify a free-trade agreement struck with Ottawa nearly a decade ago, and some capitals would prefer to build on existing defence and trade agreements rather than create a new form of membership for Canada. 欧盟27个成员国中，有10个国家尚未批准近十年前与渥太华达成的自由贸易协定，一些国家的首都更倾向于在现有的国防和贸易协定基础上进行建设，而不是为加拿大创造一种新的成员形式。

Setting out the EU’s political and policy priorities for year ahead, von der Leyen also proposed the formation of a European Security Council, which would include the UK and Ukraine, amid an ongoing threat to the continent from Russia. 在阐述欧盟未来一年的政治和政策优先事项时，冯德莱恩还提议组建一个欧洲安全理事会，其中包括英国和乌克兰，以应对俄罗斯对欧洲大陆持续构成的威胁。

“For a long time, we have discussed a leaders’ format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved,” she said in the wide-ranging address. 她在这次广泛的演讲中表示：“长期以来，我们一直在讨论一种专注于我们大陆安全的领导人机制，并让加拿大、挪威、乌克兰、英国等伙伴参与其中。”

“This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play. This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality.” “鉴于当前风险的性质和规模，这一点现在更加紧迫。这就是为什么我们将提出我们的想法，使欧洲安全理事会成为现实。”

Calls for such a body have been growing since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 自2022年俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰以来，建立此类机构的呼声日益高涨。

It was initially a French-German conception but more countries have shown support, particularly as Trump has questioned the Nato military alliance. Other nations worry such a council could unhelpfully rival Nato. 这最初是法德两国的构想，但随着特朗普对北约军事联盟提出质疑，越来越多的国家表示支持。其他国家则担心，这样一个理事会可能会与北约产生无益的竞争。

Von der Leyen said the EU was “strengthening our work with Nato” and that expanded defence spending would be “fully aligned” with the alliance. 冯德莱恩表示，欧盟正在“加强与北约的合作”，扩大的国防开支将与北约“完全一致”。

But at the core of such a security council would be the ability to trigger an emergency meeting if one member felt under threat, similar to Nato’s Article 4. 但这样一个安全理事会的核心将是：如果成员国感到受到威胁，有权触发紧急会议，这类似于北约的第4条款。

The EU chief said it would be a “mechanism to flank” Article 4, a term that could be interpreted as complementing Nato functions or - if taken in a military context - bypassing them. 欧盟主席称这将是一个“侧翼机制”来辅助第4条款，这一术语可以被解读为对北约功能的补充，或者——如果在军事背景下理解——则是绕过北约。

Alongside global threats, von der Leyen also said many European families were worried about the cost of living, and the “dizzying speed of change” of technology and its impacts on jobs and society. 除了全球威胁外，冯德莱恩还表示，许多欧洲家庭担心生活成本，以及技术“令人眼花缭乱的变化速度”及其对就业和社会的影响。

Other proposals included inviting the world’s largest AI labs for talks on how to support industry efforts to pace the frontier, as well as slashing bureaucracy for businesses in the EU. 其他提议包括邀请全球最大的AI实验室进行会谈，探讨如何支持行业努力跟上技术前沿，以及为欧盟企业削减官僚主义。

Plans to curb social media use among children, including banning platforms for under 13s, were also put forward. Under the proposal, children aged 13 to 15 would only be able to set up social media accounts which are supervised by parents. 限制儿童使用社交媒体的计划也被提出，包括禁止13岁以下儿童使用相关平台。根据该提议，13至15岁的儿童只能在父母监督下开设社交媒体账户。

A new emergency tool to help countries better deal with mass migration movements following the deadly influx of migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July would also be outlined. 一项新的紧急工具也将被概述，旨在帮助各国更好地应对大规模移民流动，此前7月份曾发生致命的移民涌入西班牙飞地休达的事件。

The pledge chimes with the message of European politicians on the right and hard right who have gained support in recent years for proposing a tougher approach. 这一承诺与近年来因提议采取更强硬立场而获得支持的欧洲右翼和极右翼政客的立场相呼应。

Some of them called the mass attempt to enter the EU through Ceuta an “invasion” and argued asylum rules should be suspended to deal with such a crisis. 其中一些人将通过休达进入欧盟的大规模尝试称为“入侵”，并主张应暂停庇护规则以应对此类危机。

Von der Leyen said the new emergency tool would “only be triggered under a strictly defined set of criteria” and for a specific period of time, and that fundamental rights would be protected. 冯德莱恩表示，新的紧急工具将“仅在严格定义的标准下”并在特定时间内触发，且基本权利将得到保护。