Canada's Carney Moves Closer to EU Amid US 'Annexation' Rhetoric, France 24 Debate Says

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is drawing closer to the European Union even as the United States president continues to speak of making Canada the "51st state," according to a description of an upcoming episode of France 24's "The Debate" program.

The program description said Carney is not being offered full membership in the 27-nation bloc, but rather a status the president of the European Commission has referred to as "associate membership." The exact scope and terms of that status were not detailed in the source material.

According to the program, the arrangement would differ from the close relationships the EU already maintains with Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, though the description did not specify how.

Carney is reportedly visiting several of those countries as part of the same European trip, ahead of a planned address before the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday, the program description said.

The visit comes against the backdrop of repeated statements from the US president suggesting Canada could become the "51st state" of the United States, a notion that has strained relations between Washington and Ottawa, according to the France 24 program summary.

France 24 did not provide further specifics on the content of Carney's planned Strasbourg speech or on the precise proposals discussed regarding Canada's relationship with the EU. Additional details are expected to emerge as the visit and speech proceed this week.