Former German Foreign Minister Gabriel proposes Canada's EU membership

[Swede]

I'm all for it. Trump doesn't need anything from Canada. So, so long. He can get his 4.3 million barrels a day from Venezuela, his 1/4 of uranium from Russia, etc etc.


He told the news portal "The Pioneer" that Europe must look for new allies in light of US President Trump's second term in office.
Canada is an enormously important country strategically and economically and in many ways more European than some EU member states. The fact that Canada is not geographically located in Europe is an obstacle to accession, but solutions can be found.
Gabriel emphasized that under Trump, the United States had completely withdrawn from the global order. For Germany and Europe, this was not only a challenge, but also an opportunity.


https://www-deutschlandfunk-de.translate.goog/frueherer-bundesaussenminister-gabriel-schlaegt-eu-mitgliedschaft-kanadas-vor-102.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[Swede]

1. And Canada, the EU, Mexico, etc can never trust the US as a reliable partner ever again.

nt

[Celerity]

2. I would welcome them with open arms. Same for Australia and New Zealand.

[DFW]

3. This would open up a can of worms for the EU. I don't see it happening,

The main reason is spelled T-U-R-K-E-Y. Turkey has been requesting EU membership for decades, and the main successful argument so far has been that Turkey is not in Europe (except for a tiny sliver attached to Bulgaria across the Bosphorus). Also, Turkey has a mainly Muslim culture, and discriminates brutally and openly against its main ethnic minority (the Kurds). Its language isn't European, but then, neither are the main languages of Finland and Hungary, so that has never been invoked as a reason to keep them out. Not considering so-called "honor killings" of female family members a crime, on the other hand, has been a very valid reason in European eyes.

Canada's two main languages are European, and their treatment of their indigenous populations has been better than ours, but, if admitted to the EU, the fact that their country is squarely in North America would give Turkey a powerful argument for admission that has served as rejection up to now. The geographical argument against accepting Turkey is, of course, pure BS, though supremely convenient. The reason for rejection is cultural discrimination. The Europeans simply do not want a flood of millions of new residents who do not speak a European language and are overwhelmingly Muslim. Any EU citizen has the right to live anywhere in the EU. There are 40 million Canadians, most of whom are perfectly happy to live in Canada. There are 85 million citizens of Turkey, millions of whom would jump at the chance to live in Europe. Indeed, Berlin, with its 250,000 Turks, counts among the 30 largest Turkish-speaking cities. There are an estimated 2.8 million Turks living in Germany, many of whose progeny are German citizens. But despite the integration of many Turks, especially the younger generation, the cultural divide remains vast, where Canadians (not only Québecois) integrate seamlessly, as do Germans in Canada, of which there are many.

Canada may withdraw from NAFTA, but they'll stay in NATO and they'll (in all likelihood) not be joining the EU.