Always remember: Canada has very close sea borders to two EU member states - closer than the UK had.
(Okay, yeah, these are not EU areas,but…)
So Canada is far closer than we think.
Besides:
Fully for it - it would solve a buttload of problems both for the EU as well as Canada, it would help to strengthen the EU against Russian influence, etc.
The only thing I see as a must to remove unanimous voting in the EU and replace it partially by majority voting AND population based voting when required. (There are fairly good models for that - country based voting for topics that touch national sovereignty, population based for more individual topics)
Additionally Iceland, Norway and of course Ukraine are good candidates. Moldavia, Albania, Bosnia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo I see little issues with once they achieve the requirements
Turkey could in theory achieve these, too, but to be honest, I do not see that happen in my lifetime as that would also include the solution of the Cyprus conflict AND a restoration of democracy in a post Erdogan era.
The UK? I would be happy to welcome them back, BUT not just like before. Before Brexit the UK had a bloody good deal. They had lots and lots of specialised rules and exceptions just for them (among other that brought us BSE, btw) and used very aggressive blocking tactics whenever they felt they should get another special solution.
Not gonna happen again, folks. Next time you apply the same rules will apply for everyone.
I don’t even see the reason to fret over exact borders. Is Canada on the European continent? No. But in the age of global trade and trivial global travel, that matters very little. What matters more in ease of integration isn’t distance but cultural and institutional factors.
Like it or not, Canada is a European settler-colonial country. Its population is overwhelmingly those of European descent, and its legal and cultural institutions grew directly out of European predecessors. I absolutely do not mean this to say that there should be any kind of racial or religious tests on countries joining the EU. But objectively, in terms of simple practical ease of integration into the block, Canada would be pretty easy. Consider, which would likely be a harder integration, Canada or Turkey? Despite the distance, I think Canada would be a lot easier to integrate than Turkey.
I think Canada would be a lot easier to integrate than Turkey.
If you compare the people of Canada and Turkey to the people of Ireland, obviously Canada seems easier to integrate. But if you compare the people of Canada and Turkey to that of Greece or Bulgaria, then it’s much less obvious. The fact that Turkey has territorial disputes with Cyprus and Greece makes Turkey an unlikely member state, but culturally the people of Turkey (not the political system) are not that much less south-eastern European than Canadians are north-western European.
But i think practical ease of integration doesn’t have to say much. If you look at ‘compatibility’ also Belarussians would make perfect candidates for integration, but even if they would want it the political reality doesn’t allow it. Same has been long true for Northern-Macedonia joining, but in this case the blocking comes from inside forces rather than outside forces. And even where the political reality doesn’t allow it, the people might not want it (e.g. Switzerland and Norway right now), the same could appear true for Canada (or Turkey) even if it doesn’t seem like that today. If calculation are made, perhaps it might turn out Canada doesn’t end up on the receiving ends.
Would Canadians also be interested in joining if it means increased taxes to pay for the benefits of people on the almost opposite side of the globe? Especially if countries like Morocco and Turkey join at the same time, argument will be made Canadians are paying for the development of those economies. Perhaps they will argue Canada is much better off as a strategic partner than a full-on member state, despite “its legal and cultural institutions grew directly out of European predecessors”.
Either way, it has to be a two way desire, much like a friendship between two individuals. The reasons are less important than the desire. Both could become member for totally different reasons. One might join for economic benefits and the other for military strategic benefits for example, but in either way it in the end the European people (via their representatives) have to agree regardless. Again, the people of Ireland would likely be much more in favour of Canada joining than Greece or Bulgaria would be.
If Canada joined, it would provide a wealth of raw materials for europe. Everything Europe may be lacking can be found in Canada, and they already have extensive mining operations, (and some of the worst companies in the world that operate mines in foreign countries.)
Always remember: Canada has very close sea borders to two EU member states - closer than the UK had.
(Okay, yeah, these are not EU areas,but…)
So Canada is far closer than we think.
Besides: Fully for it - it would solve a buttload of problems both for the EU as well as Canada, it would help to strengthen the EU against Russian influence, etc.
The only thing I see as a must to remove unanimous voting in the EU and replace it partially by majority voting AND population based voting when required. (There are fairly good models for that - country based voting for topics that touch national sovereignty, population based for more individual topics)
Additionally Iceland, Norway and of course Ukraine are good candidates. Moldavia, Albania, Bosnia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo I see little issues with once they achieve the requirements Turkey could in theory achieve these, too, but to be honest, I do not see that happen in my lifetime as that would also include the solution of the Cyprus conflict AND a restoration of democracy in a post Erdogan era.
The UK? I would be happy to welcome them back, BUT not just like before. Before Brexit the UK had a bloody good deal. They had lots and lots of specialised rules and exceptions just for them (among other that brought us BSE, btw) and used very aggressive blocking tactics whenever they felt they should get another special solution. Not gonna happen again, folks. Next time you apply the same rules will apply for everyone.
I don’t even see the reason to fret over exact borders. Is Canada on the European continent? No. But in the age of global trade and trivial global travel, that matters very little. What matters more in ease of integration isn’t distance but cultural and institutional factors.
Like it or not, Canada is a European settler-colonial country. Its population is overwhelmingly those of European descent, and its legal and cultural institutions grew directly out of European predecessors. I absolutely do not mean this to say that there should be any kind of racial or religious tests on countries joining the EU. But objectively, in terms of simple practical ease of integration into the block, Canada would be pretty easy. Consider, which would likely be a harder integration, Canada or Turkey? Despite the distance, I think Canada would be a lot easier to integrate than Turkey.
If you compare the people of Canada and Turkey to the people of Ireland, obviously Canada seems easier to integrate. But if you compare the people of Canada and Turkey to that of Greece or Bulgaria, then it’s much less obvious. The fact that Turkey has territorial disputes with Cyprus and Greece makes Turkey an unlikely member state, but culturally the people of Turkey (not the political system) are not that much less south-eastern European than Canadians are north-western European.
But i think practical ease of integration doesn’t have to say much. If you look at ‘compatibility’ also Belarussians would make perfect candidates for integration, but even if they would want it the political reality doesn’t allow it. Same has been long true for Northern-Macedonia joining, but in this case the blocking comes from inside forces rather than outside forces. And even where the political reality doesn’t allow it, the people might not want it (e.g. Switzerland and Norway right now), the same could appear true for Canada (or Turkey) even if it doesn’t seem like that today. If calculation are made, perhaps it might turn out Canada doesn’t end up on the receiving ends.
Would Canadians also be interested in joining if it means increased taxes to pay for the benefits of people on the almost opposite side of the globe? Especially if countries like Morocco and Turkey join at the same time, argument will be made Canadians are paying for the development of those economies. Perhaps they will argue Canada is much better off as a strategic partner than a full-on member state, despite “its legal and cultural institutions grew directly out of European predecessors”.
Either way, it has to be a two way desire, much like a friendship between two individuals. The reasons are less important than the desire. Both could become member for totally different reasons. One might join for economic benefits and the other for military strategic benefits for example, but in either way it in the end the European people (via their representatives) have to agree regardless. Again, the people of Ireland would likely be much more in favour of Canada joining than Greece or Bulgaria would be.
If Canada joined, it would provide a wealth of raw materials for europe. Everything Europe may be lacking can be found in Canada, and they already have extensive mining operations, (and some of the worst companies in the world that operate mines in foreign countries.)