00:00Member of European Parliament Tobias Kramer told Euronews that the EU must turn its so-called
00:06associate membership offer to Canada into a meaningful partnership that goes well beyond trade.
00:12Kramer, a member of the Socialist and Democrats parliamentary group, said that for months Canada
00:17and the EU have been flirting with each other, or in his own words, writing love letters,
00:22but now stressed that it's time to get serious and, quote, turn that love story into real
00:27commitments. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU's
00:33first associate member last month, but gave little indication of what the unprecedented status would
00:38mean in practice. Kramer noted that associate membership must mean the closest possible
00:44partnership that the EU can offer to a non-European country. He suggested that Canada could participate
00:50as an observer in the Council of the EU and called for the creation of a formal parliamentary
00:55partnership assembly, mimicking the existing model of the EU-UK parliamentary setup. The EU and Canada
01:01are due to meet at a summit in Montreal next week and are expected to come to a number of
01:06agreements
01:06in several areas, including critical raw materials and digital cooperation.
