BRUSSELS, Belgium: Canada could become the European Union's first associate member under a proposal unveiled in September by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the two sides seek deeper ties across trade, technology, defense and other areas.

Von der Leyen made the proposal during her annual State of the Union address, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the European Parliament. EU lawmakers gave her a standing ovation before she walked over to embrace Carney.

New partnerships were needed "in the cold fragility of today's world," von der Leyen told the assembly in Strasbourg.

The 27-member EU and Canada are both facing pressure on trade and other issues from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and from an increasingly assertive China. The EU also faces Russia's war in Ukraine at its borders.

"I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU," von der Leyen said.

The EU and Canada "see the world with the same eyes: from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defense, on raw materials and on supply chains. But above all ... Europe and Canada believe in democracy," she said.

Any move forward would ultimately be up to EU member states rather than von der Leyen alone.

The EU has previously resisted such flexible alliances that lack legal status. Members reacted cautiously in May when Germany proposed associate membership for Ukraine as a step toward full accession.

One EU diplomat expressed surprise at von der Leyen's proposal, saying, "Nobody really knows what it means." The diplomat also said there were concerns that the Commission president "is overpromising and won't be able to deliver."

Seven EU diplomats in Canada and Europe had said before the speech on September 16 that efforts were underway to deepen collaboration in trade, defense and digital security, but that no specific plan for a more comprehensive EU-Canada relationship had been discussed at a high level.

Obstacles also remain to expanding trade. Mark Manger, a professor of political economy and global affairs at the University of Toronto, has said EU officials have been frustrated by Canada's refusal to open its protected telecommunications and dairy industries.

Carney said earlier this week that Canada was seeking a "unique alliance" with the EU but not membership. He is scheduled to address the European Parliament on Thursday.

His European trip follows the breakdown of Canada-U.S. trade talks last month and a subsequent series of tit-for-tat tariffs. Carney has pledged to double Canada's non-U.S. trade over the next decade as the country shifts away from its southern neighbor amid the trade dispute.

Carney said on September 15 that more detailed discussions would begin at the Canada-EU summit in Montreal in late October.

"Our relationship with the EU has become increasingly close, especially over the past year and a half," Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said.

Von der Leyen said cooperation would extend across a range of sectors.

"We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defense industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project," she said.

"Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system," she added.

Von der Leyen added, "This is a partnership not against anyone else."