Canada welcomes EU proposal to become ‘associate member’

加拿大欢迎欧盟关于其成为“准成员国”的提议

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed the European Union’s ambition for Canada to become its first “associate member”, calling for closer cooperation on defence, critical minerals and energy security. 加拿大总理马克·卡尼（Mark Carney）对欧盟希望加拿大成为其首个“准成员国”的愿景表示欢迎，并呼吁在国防、关键矿产和能源安全方面加强合作。

Carney told the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday that Canada and Europe were “stronger together” in the face of “geopolitical rupture”. His comments came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed “opening the door” to Canada’s associate membership, a status that does not currently exist. 卡尼周四在斯特拉斯堡的欧洲议会发表讲话称，面对“地缘政治断裂”，加拿大和欧洲“团结起来会更强大”。此前一天，欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩（Ursula von der Leyen）提议为加拿大成为“准成员国”敞开大门，而这一地位目前尚不存在。

US President Donald Trump earlier called the idea “laughable” and threatened “very serious tariffs” on Europe if he considered it a “hostile act”. 美国总统唐纳德·特朗普早些时候称这一想法“可笑”，并威胁称如果他认为这是“敌对行为”，将对欧洲征收“非常严重的关税”。

Canada and the US are locked in an escalating trade dispute, with each side imposing tit-for-tat tariffs after bilateral talks collapsed last month. 加拿大和美国正陷入一场不断升级的贸易争端，在双边会谈上个月破裂后，双方均实施了针锋相对的关税措施。

“Today our societies are being battered by new storms,” Carney said during his address, naming them as climate change, “the erosion of democratic norms” and the “weaponisation of trade”. “今天，我们的社会正受到新风暴的冲击，”卡尼在演讲中说道，他将其归结为气候变化、“民主准则的侵蚀”以及“贸易武器化”。

“Economic integration is now being weaponised, tariffs being used to exert pressure,” he said. “Financial mechanisms have been used for coercion. Supply chains constitute weak points to be exploited.” “经济一体化现在正被武器化，关税被用来施加压力，”他说，“金融机制已被用于胁迫。供应链构成了可被利用的弱点。”

He said a Canada-EU alliance would create a “beacon for other democracies”, while stressing the two sides were not seeking to form a new power bloc. 他表示，加拿大与欧盟的联盟将为其他民主国家树立“灯塔”，同时强调双方并不寻求组建一个新的权力集团。

“I am not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great-power rival - only with better manners,” he told MEPs. “This is about sovereignty, our ability to live as we wish. We do not seek power to dominate others.” “我并不是要提议建立第三个集团来成为大国竞争对手——只是表现得更有礼貌而已，”他对欧洲议会议员说，“这关乎主权，关乎我们按照自己的意愿生活的能力。我们不寻求权力去支配他人。”

Asked about the proposal on Wednesday, Trump told reporters: “If I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on many things. If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility.” 周三被问及该提议时，特朗普告诉记者：“如果我认为这有任何敌对行为，我将对欧洲征收非常严重的关税，或者在许多事情上停止与欧洲的贸易。如果是出于好意，那没问题。如果是出于恶意，我们将对欧洲征收非常沉重的关税，这是有可能的。”

Responding to Trump’s comments at a press conference following his address, Carney said: “This alliance is a positive process, that’s my response to the American president.” 在演讲后的新闻发布会上回应特朗普的评论时，卡尼表示：“这个联盟是一个积极的过程，这就是我对美国总统的回应。”

“Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no-one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” he added. “加拿大人团结一致，没有人能告诉我们该说什么语言，没有人能支配我们的文化，或者决定我们可以在国际上与谁达成协议，”他补充道。

Carney said Canada was “not in a position, nor seeking, to become a full member of the European Union”, describing the proposal as a “different framework”. 卡尼表示，加拿大“既没有立场，也不寻求成为欧盟的正式成员国”，并将该提议描述为一种“不同的框架”。

Speaking at the European Parliament on Wednesday, von der Leyen said she wanted Canada to become the EU’s first associate member, with closer cooperation in areas such as manufacturing, technology, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security. 冯德莱恩周三在欧洲议会发表讲话时表示，她希望加拿大成为欧盟首个准成员国，在制造业、技术、国防、能源、关键矿产和经济安全等领域加强合作。

It is unclear exactly what that relationship would look like because the “associate member” status does not currently exist within the EU and could take years to implement. 目前尚不清楚这种关系具体会是什么样子，因为“准成员国”地位目前在欧盟内部并不存在，且可能需要数年时间才能落实。

Any new arrangement would require the agreement of all 27 EU member states, with some governments having previously expressed reservations about creating a new form of membership. The EU and Canada already have a free-trade agreement, and cooperate in areas including trade, defence and research. 任何新的安排都需要欧盟所有27个成员国的同意，而一些政府此前曾对建立一种新的成员形式表示保留。欧盟和加拿大已经签署了自由贸易协定，并在贸易、国防和研究等领域开展合作。

In his address, Carney said Canada and Europe could strengthen their “strategic autonomy” through “deep co-operation in the full range of strategic capabilities, including critical minerals”. 卡尼在演讲中表示，加拿大和欧洲可以通过“在包括关键矿产在内的全方位战略能力上进行深度合作”，来加强各自的“战略自主权”。

He said Canada could supply liquefied natural gas and hydrogen to support European energy security, while benefiting from Europe’s expertise in clean-energy technologies. 他表示，加拿大可以供应液化天然气和氢能以支持欧洲的能源安全，同时从欧洲在清洁能源技术方面的专业知识中受益。

He also proposed pooling technological resources and deepening “people to people ties”, including allowing young people to “work, study and live where they want on either side of the Atlantic” through Canada joining the EU’s Erasmus+ programme. 他还提议汇集技术资源并深化“人文交流”，包括通过加拿大加入欧盟的“伊拉斯谟+”（Erasmus+）计划，允许年轻人“在大西洋两岸随心所欲地工作、学习和生活”。

Carney described the proposed relationship as “a unique, positive approach that we will define together”. 卡尼将这一提议的关系描述为“一种我们将共同定义的独特、积极的方法”。

He added that there would be a debate and a vote in the Canadian parliament on the proposals, but emphasised the two sides were still at the “start of a road”. 他补充说，加拿大议会将对这些提议进行辩论和投票，但他强调双方仍处于“道路的起点”。

A Canada-EU summit is due to take place in Montreal at the end of October, where Carney said they would “drill down the details”. 加拿大与欧盟峰会定于10月底在蒙特利尔举行，卡尼表示，届时他们将“深入探讨细节”。