Carney Pushes Idea Of Making Canada 'Associate Member' Of EU

BRUSSELS, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney wants a closer relationship with the European Union and is exploring whether his country could become an “associate member” of the bloc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The EU, which has not been flexible about membership rules in the past, is open to the idea of granting Canada a yet-to-be-created status of associate membership, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials both from the EU and Canada.

Canada’s embassy in Brussels and spokespeople at the European Commission did not respond to separate requests for comment.

Canada’s escalating