Canada is not geographically eligible to join the EU by definition. The founding treaties would need to be rewritten and re-signed by all parties, which does not seem feasible short-term. The way more likely route is more trade agreements and such, which would indeed be good for everyone
Also, being in the EU means meeting a lot of product, drug, food, etc. safety standards.
Just to pick one, to meet electricity standards, Canadian outlets would have to accept Type C Europlug devices and supply them with 230V at 50 Hz. That would mean redoing the entire Canadian electrical grid in a way that would make it incompatible with the American one. I don’t think that’s realistic.
More realistic is some variation of the deal that the EU has with Switzerland. Not in the EU but lots of bilateral deals that mostly make the border disappear for travellers.
That was a threat from last March when Trump was actively threatening to annex Canada and the tariff wars were just starting.
It was an effective threat because the US is very dependent on Canadian electrical generation. And, the grid was never disconnected because Canada makes a lot of money selling electricity to the US.
Actually, you are right and I’m mostly wrong. The Maastricht Treaty just says:
Any European State which respects the principles set out in Article 6(1) may apply to become a member of the Union. It shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members.
So, what is a “European State” is effectively just a political decision by the Council and Parliament. I guess if Cyprus and Armenia were considered “European States” then Canada is not that big of a stretch.
Additionally, the next paragraph is
The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
Soo I guess even the Maastricht treaty allows itself to be modified, maybe removing the “European” criteria completely.
So it’s not as difficult as I first imagined, it’s just a question of political will from Canada and the EU institutions.
Canada is not geographically eligible to join the EU by definition. The founding treaties would need to be rewritten and re-signed by all parties, which does not seem feasible short-term. The way more likely route is more trade agreements and such, which would indeed be good for everyone
Also, being in the EU means meeting a lot of product, drug, food, etc. safety standards.
Just to pick one, to meet electricity standards, Canadian outlets would have to accept Type C Europlug devices and supply them with 230V at 50 Hz. That would mean redoing the entire Canadian electrical grid in a way that would make it incompatible with the American one. I don’t think that’s realistic.
More realistic is some variation of the deal that the EU has with Switzerland. Not in the EU but lots of bilateral deals that mostly make the border disappear for travellers.
Ontario is already talking about cutting off the US grid. Obviously changing voltage, frequency and maybe plugs(although the EU does not have a standard for that) would be a big change.
That was a threat from last March when Trump was actively threatening to annex Canada and the tariff wars were just starting.
It was an effective threat because the US is very dependent on Canadian electrical generation. And, the grid was never disconnected because Canada makes a lot of money selling electricity to the US.
I don’t think there is an actual definition of European state in any of the EU documents, but I’d be happy to be proven wrong.
Actually, you are right and I’m mostly wrong. The Maastricht Treaty just says:
So, what is a “European State” is effectively just a political decision by the Council and Parliament. I guess if Cyprus and Armenia were considered “European States” then Canada is not that big of a stretch.
Additionally, the next paragraph is
Soo I guess even the Maastricht treaty allows itself to be modified, maybe removing the “European” criteria completely.
So it’s not as difficult as I first imagined, it’s just a question of political will from Canada and the EU institutions.
Well they do share a border with France, in the loosest sense