The EU, Canada and European independence

What does it mean for Europe to be independent?

Writing for the LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog, Visiting Fellow Dr Vera Spyrakou argues that EU’s recent offer of associate membership to Canada is the latest evolution in the EU’s vocabulary, one which first focused on strategic autonomy, pivoted to resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has most recently turned to interdependence.

The meaning of this emphasis marks a shift in the EU’s approach to reducing strategic vulnerability from eliminating dependence to preventing dependence from becoming vulnerability. As the case of Canada demonstrates, the question of who belongs to Europe and which forms of participation entail which rights, responsibilities, and obligations has become particularly prominent.