Key facts
- The EU will not offer "associate EU membership" to the UK.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed Canada become the EU's first "associate member."
- EU officials clarified the associate membership offer is for countries not eligible for full EU membership.
- Some UK Labour MPs are interested in associate membership as a path to closer EU ties.
- US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs if the EU-Canada associate membership proposal proceeds.
The European Union has indicated it will not extend an offer of "associate EU membership" to the United Kingdom, despite a surprise announcement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Canada would receive such a status. Von der Leyen extended the invitation to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during her State of the Union address, stating Canada would become "the first associate member of the European Union."
However, senior EU officials quickly moved to temper expectations, clarifying that the offer to Canada was intended for countries not geographically or politically eligible for full EU membership. "Unlike Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Norway and the U.K., Canada is not in Europe," one senior EU official told POLITICO. "It cannot join the EU. Norway shouldn't be looking at this and thinking ‘oh we want more.’ This isn’t for them. Their route to that is to join the EU. Same for the U.K."
Some lawmakers in the UK's ruling Labour Party have expressed interest in the concept of associate membership, viewing it as a potential pathway to closer ties with the EU. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a Labour MP, suggested Britain should "ask for it" if it could serve as a stepping stone back towards closer integration.