Strasbourg, September 16 (News Desk): European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has offered to open the door to Canada becoming the European Union’s first ‘associate member’. The announcement was made on Wednesday during her annual ‘State of the Union’ address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, which was also attended by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Von der Leyen said Canada and Europe should not limit their relationship to a free trade agreement, but need to build a broader alliance for the future. She expressed her willingness to work with Carney to pave the way for Canada to become the European Union’s first “associate member.” The announcement was met with a standing ovation from MPs. Carney also stood up and met von der Leyen. Von der Leyen said Canada and Europe share similar values and both sides have strong interests in areas such as technology, defence, theArctic, energy, key minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Cooperation in the fields can be further deepened. However, there is no clear decision yet on whether Canada will accept this ‘associate member’ offer. Carney has already said that Canada is not seeking to become a full member of the European Union, but rather wants to form a “unique alliance” with the European Union. is Canada’s incoming ambassador to the European Union, Jonathan Wilkinson, also said that the two sides are still far from finalizing a definition or name for this potential relationship. According to him, it is first necessary to determine what kind ofrelationship is actually being outlined. The status of ‘associate member’ is not an established category in the current treaties of the European Union, so its rights and responsibilities have yet to be defined in detail. Carney willaddress the European Parliament on Thursday. Further discussions on future cooperation between Canada and the European Union are expected to take place during the Canada-EU summit in October.