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EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

bbc.com

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Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#711

Post by gizajob »

jeroenhd wrote: post #538
gizajob wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That can’t happen though because they’d be without a currency in the interim period and it’s also baked in to the EU’s treaties to make this difficult else places like Catalonia and the Basque Country would break away and join the EU, so there are barriers in place to make this less than quick or easy.

It would be rather foolish, but they can continue using the GBP. Or they can start using the Euro before joining. They wouldn't be able to mint their currency, but plenty of small (often island) nations use foreign currency already. Scotland is already a separate country, technically speaking, so I don't think it's comparable with the Basque situation. Furthermore, with the UK leaving the EU, they've opened doors tha…

I think if you keep researching one of the things that killed the referendum last time was the British government saying a hard no to continued use of the pound while scotland applied to the EU and joined the Euro. Now of course they could keep using the pound, but the amount of economic attacks against Scotland by the City of London and general lack of financial independence seems like it really would kill the idea dead. If Scotland thinks it gets a better deal from the EU than it gets as part of being in the UK then it should go for it but it would be an extremely expensive and fragile 10-15 years in that interim period. And not even full independence, it would be tantamount to saying “we hate the English so much we’d rather be governed from Belgium”.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#712

Post by mitxela »

pyrale wrote: post #695
mitxela wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in one, it's definitely true. It doesn't mean entrepreneurship doesn't exist, but there is a lot of bureaucracy and the bureaucracy is iron law. They will go to any extreme to make reality align with the bureaucracy. For example if you build a building without permission, the police will come by with a bulldozer, demolish your building, dispose of the remains, and then bill you for it. Even if the building is…

> but there is a lot of bureaucracy and the bureaucracy is iron law. Yeah, an organized and powerful administration is the basis of rule-of-law system. The opposite isn't entrepreneurship, it's a state of widespread corruption where laws are toothless. It doesn't benefit upstarts who want a fair environment to start a business, it benefits megacorps with their own militia of lawyers to bend the rules, and pockets dee…

The optimal amount of crime is not zero. If someone does an illegal thing but it turns out to be good for society, it should be permitted, then legalized.

Think of AI copyright infringement. You know why the AI labs are in the USA and China and not in Europe.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#713

Post by bryanlarsen »

shoobiedoo wrote: post #193
cmiles8 wrote: post #158

This would be Canada getting down leveled to the minor leagues. Yes there are a few issues with the US, but Canada is vastly better off playing on the world stage under the wings of the US than it would be as the EU’s “associate member.” The next phase of history is going the be China and the US and then everyone else scrambling for scraps.

And won't the dems just undo all this tariff nonsense anyway? Or is Canada acting like a bitter ex after a breakup who vows to take their seething to the grave no matter what

Newsom is on the record stating he wouldn't undo all of the tariffs if he becomes president in 2028. And he's a leading Democratic candidate for the position.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#714

Post by rsynnott »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #525
b3lvedere wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Canada cannot be an EU member (it isn't in Europe)” I think the construct of geographical location should not be that big of an issue in these times. Plenty of EU countries have overseas properties.

It's the law and it should be very strictly enforced because otherwise it'd open the door for the Middle East and North Africa... But I don't think Canada would want to join the EU, it's anti-Trump bluster.

Turkey, only a tiny part of which is geographically in Europe, is a candidate (though talks are suspended in practice until, at least, Erdogan is out of power), and Cyprus is geographically in Asia/Middle East, not Europe. The rules could certainly be loosened further with agreement.

But also, yes, Canada probably does not want to be a full member, at least in the near-term; they want some sort of alignment not amounting to full membership. I wouldn't be totally amazed if we look back on this as the start of the (long-suggested) two speed EU system.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#715

Post by mitxela »

strictnein wrote: post #521
mitxela wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The votes consistently tell a different story.

Voting for someone and liking someone aren't synonyms. You claimed one thing, now you're saying something else. In 2024, if the Dems just had a normal primary they would have won. But they consistently lied to people about what they were seeing with their own eyes (Biden's obvious lack of mental acuity), which people find really insulting, and then forced in a weak candidate. To clarify, since this is the Internet an…

That's all copium. Harris was a perfectly average Democratic candidate and an improvement over Biden.

Yes, if they'd run Bernie they probably would've won, but there was zero chance the Democrat party would ever run a far-left presidential candidate - it goes against all their interests. It's like saying the Republicans should've run Chuck Schumer.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#716

Post by lrasinen »

carlob wrote: post #678
FabCH wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carney was asking for freedom of movement of goods, people and services, but without full monetary and legislative integration. So, easier to sell stuff, easier to buy stuff, free to just travel to/from Canada/EU and work there with no extra paperwork, free to buy and sell service from Canada to EU and vice versa. No Euro, no vote in EU, no ECJ, no payments into each others budget. Tighter integration than UK, not as…

> Although, no joke, a lot of peoples first reaction is: "They need to compete in Eurovision first. Otherwise they should wait for Australia to join first." What? First time I hear of this. Honestly, Eurovision doesn't really have anything to do with the EU. We all know the main sponsor is from a non-EU country whose participation is much more controversial than Canada anyway.

The main sponsor did not renew the sponsorship deal for next year, though.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#717

Post by nutjob2 »

fidotron wrote: post #388
teamonkey wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think Cameron did much serious negotiation on this front. He resigned the evening of the referendum results. It was a deliberate choice by his successors to pursue a hard Brexit. A softer Brexit was always possible and likely would have been more acceptable to the EU, as it would have had less financial impact and disruption to trade.

That's what happened afterwards. The referendum was triggered by a failed negotiation between Cameron and the EU in the first place.

The referendum was entirely the UK's choice and had nothing to do with the EU. It offered more concessions than the UK deserved (having already held numerous opt-outs) and they still called the vote.

One of the effects of Brexit is that EU popular solidarity has noticeably improved while the UK has gone in the opposite direction. That says a lot about Brexit.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#718

Post by gxt »

neom wrote: post #75

No idea what this actually means, if it means easier trade, I'm all for anything that reduces our dependency on the yanks, as long as we don't need to be involved in their regulatory or legal regimes. The Americans are no longer our friends, Salut, mes amis Européens. :)

This message has been brought to you by the Minister of The Truth of the Government of Canada. /// Ce message a été émis par le Ministre de La Vérité du Gouvernement du Canada.

Thank you for directing your hate at the specified target. /// Merci d'aiguiller votre haine à la cible sus mentionnée.

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#719

Post by thunderfork »

hexagonsuns wrote: post #696
jhonof wrote: post #683

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consent of the people can be different for different things? No way /s

When did hn become like Reddit? Nobody engages in conversation anymore it’s just epic Marvel one liner quips

You can't be reddit-posting and then complaining about replies being reddit, man

Re: EU chief opens door for Canada to become 'associate member'

#720

Post by mytailorisrich »

coffeebeqn wrote: post #688
mytailorisrich wrote: post #525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the law and it should be very strictly enforced because otherwise it'd open the door for the Middle East and North Africa... But I don't think Canada would want to join the EU, it's anti-Trump bluster.

Middle eastern or North African countries can’t join because the member states don’t want them to join and they need unanimous agreement. See Turkeys failed bid for example. Even a country with positive general public appeal like Ukraine is very unlikely to join in the next 10 years

Yes, unanimous agreement is required once a country has applied, as part of the process of accepting the application.

However Article 49 of the European Union states: "Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union".

So Middle Eastern and North African countries (and Canada) cannot apply in the first place.

I think Turkey is in the grey area that allows some wriggle room as it spans both Europe and Asia.

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