Canada may become another "member state," but not of the United States.

Canada might become another "member state," but not of the United States.

The Canadian flag. Image.

Politico cited expert opinions as saying that it seems unlikely for Canada to join the EU now, but such a possibility exists in the future.

According to a public opinion survey released by the Canadian research company Abacus Data in March, 44% of Canadians support their country joining the EU, while 34% oppose it. The media quoted Paula Pinto, the spokesperson for the European Commission, as saying that only European countries are eligible to apply for EU membership.

"Canada certainly has the right to join the EU. In many ways, (Canada) may be closer to Europe's values, institutions, and policies than many current candidate countries." Frank Zimmermanniger, a professor of European politics at ETH Zurich, believes.

Gisele Bos, a professor of EU External Democratic Support at Maastricht University, also agrees with this view.

"Europeans have more of a mindset." She told Politico in an interview.

Bos reminded that from an official and legal perspective, the concept of "European country" is not clearly defined and is not limited to the European continent: many EU countries have overseas territories in the Caribbean, the Pacific, or the Arctic. This professor said that Canadians are "special Europeans" in a sense because many Canadians have European ancestry, and they base their political organizations, legal systems, and democratic appeals on Europe.

Meanwhile, Ian Bond, deputy director of the Center for European Reform Analysis, believed that proving Canada belongs to Europe would be extremely difficult. He pointed out that even if Canada passed the "European attribute" test, practical economic factors would become obstacles: If Canada joins the EU, it must set up a tariff border with the United States and implement the current EU tariff policy, imposing restrictions on imports of American goods. According to TASS reports, Bond said that such changes would be "extremely devastating" for Canada economically, and disadvantages would far outweigh potential benefits for a long time.

It is worth noting that currently there are nine countries that are EU candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Montenegro. Moreover, the EU also considers Kosovo, which is not universally recognized, as a candidate country.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495700361681781284/

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