AFP Published: Thu 17 Sep 2026 at 3:06am

What’s next?

The 27 member states of the EU would have to decide whether to accept Canada as an associate member.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has laid out her bold vision for a strengthened, revitalised, united Europe and has invited a new name to the party: Canada.

Ms von der Leyen covered a large range of topics in a 73-minute annual “state of the union” address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, leading off with the opening line from Charles Dickens’s Tales of Two Cities, which she said also described the world today.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” she said.

Here are five key takeaways from her speech.

Oh, Canada!

Ms von der Leyen said the European Union was opening the door for Canada to become its first associate member.

“We want to bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible,” she said.

“So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU.”

Mark Carney waves as he walks through the European Parliament with Ursula von der Leyen. — Mark Carney received a standing ovation from the European Parliament. (Reuters: Yves Herman)normal

Ms von der Leyen walked up to and embraced Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who she had invited to the address, and he received a standing ovation from the chamber.

It will be up to the 27 EU member states whether Ms von der Leyen’s proposal goes ahead.

The EU has historically resisted such types of flexible alliances that have no legal status.

New security council

The European Commission chief also pitched setting up a “European Security Council” with countries including Britain and Ukraine, as the continent grapples with the threat from Russia.

“For a long time, we have discussed a leaders’ format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play.

“This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality.”

“We should be under no illusions about what is happening here: hybrid threats facing Europe are less and less hybrid and less and less threats,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook.

“We urgently need a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents: Those which fall below armed aggression but clearly threaten our national security.”

The European Commission president said she wanted to establish an “emergency security protocol” that would allow any EU member state to convene urgent talks in case of crisis.

Ursula von der Leyen has invited Canada to become the first associate member of the European Union. (Reuters: Yves Herman)normal

Strengthened trade and manufacturing

Ms von der Leyen said she would like Europe to build “an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity” and economic security.

“We will work on intelligent manufacturing,” she said.

“We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defence industrial bases.

“We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project.”

While Ursula von der Leyen was laying out her vision, animal rights activists demonstrated outside the European Parliament. (Reuters: Yves Herman)normal

She said the EU would work on energy-critical minerals and batteries, on AI, quantum, cyber and economic security.

“This is not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strengths,” Ms von der Leyen said.

Slow down on AI and social ban for kids

Despite calling for more European technological advances, Ms von der Leyen said she supported the recent calls from tech leaders for a slowdown on AI.

“Models being developed will allow hacking on a level we never thought possible,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“And they will soon be in the hands of adversaries who see the world very differently from us.”

She pointed to recent incidents of rogue AI agents and warnings from developers.

“CEOs of the most advanced companies tell us that it is time to slow down on the self-recursive models, to pace the frontier,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“If the people developing the technology are clear, then we should be too.”

Landmark EU rules governing the use of AI adopted recently put Europe in the position to shape global efforts to tackle the risks, Ms von der Leyen said.

She said Europe would work with like-minded partners such as Canada, the United Kingdom and others to take measures such as model evaluation, verification and AI security.

“I will invite the main frontier labs for a discussion on how we can support ongoing industry efforts to pace the frontier,” von der Leyen said.

She also proposed a social media ban for children under 13 — similar to Australia’s world-first ban for kids under 16 — and no personal accounts for people under the age of 15, saying that platforms have to prove that they are safe for children.

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