This photograph shows the European flags flapping in the breeze in front of the Louise Weiss building headquarters of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, eastern France on September 17, 2026. (Photo by Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP)
Oslo: Europe is more attractive than ever as a partner, as demonstrated by plans for Canada to become an "associate member" of the EU, the bloc's Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Thursday.
"Europe has never been as attractive as it is today," Kos said Thursday in Oslo, when asked whether Iceland's recent decision to reject the resumption of EU membership negotiations was a sign the EU had lost its lustre.
"When I speak about the attractiveness, I don't mean only becoming or not becoming a member. It is wanting to work with us stronger or in any other ways we haven't explored yet, like Canada," Kos added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed Wednesday that Canada become the EU's first "associate member", in the presence of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was to address EU lawmakers on Thursday.
He has been pursuing closer ties with the EU as Ottawa gets drawn ever deeper into a trade war with the United States.
Von der Leyen also proposed that Canada join the future "European Security Council" that she has pitched.
Voters in Iceland rejected last month a resumption of EU entry talks suspended 13 years ago, burying the question for the foreseeable future.
"I regret the decision on the referendum in Iceland, but of course we respect it," Kos said.
"I think it would be great if Iceland would sit with us in Brussels at the table when we would discuss the future of the European Union," she said.
