A PROPOSAL to make Canada an associate member of the EU shows Scotland "can get back into the EU with independence", the SNP have said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney she wants to open the door for Canada to become the EU's first associate member which would involve closer ties on various key sectors.
Both the EU and Canada are confronting growing tensions with US president Donald Trump.
Carney has called for a “unique alliance” with the EU as Canada seeks to reduce its heavy dependence on US trade.
SNP MP Brendan O'Hara said the potential deal shows up the "sheer madness of Brexit" while the European Movement in Scotland (EMiS) says Prime Minister Burnham "should be calling Ursula von der Leyen now" to explore associate membership as an option for the UK.
O'Hara said: "The news that Canada is set to become the European Union’s first associate member is the latest example of the sheer madness of Brexit – while major countries are queuing up to do deals with the EU, Brexit Britain sinks deeper into isolation and is making people poorer.
“For Scotland there is a way out of this Westminster imposed doom loop – we can choose to take control over our own future, we can get back into the EU with independence.
“Leaving the EU has damaged growth and investment, costing the public finances £250 million every day and it’s costing every single person £3000 every year. “And despite this mountain of economic evidence, Westminster parties and politicians are either too blind or too cowardly to admit what the vast majority of ordinary people saw years ago – Brexit is a disaster. “Only by taking our place as an independent nation in the EU can Scotland turn the page on our chapter in broken Brexit Britain. Scotland needs a fresh start with independence.”
The EMiS argues the UK can "regain many of the advantages of European Union membership" without having full member status through an associate member route.
EMiS chair David Clarke said: “Associate membership is a new idea. It’s a status that may be open to the UK.
"It would link five G7 states, the UK, Canada, Germany, France and Italy. The UK could regain many of the advantages of European Union membership, without having full member status.
"It’s a very attractive proposition for the UK. Andy Burnham should be calling Ursula von der Leyen now.”
Von der Leyen said offering Canada some sort of EU membership was "not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength".
Trade talks between Canada and the US collapsed last month, sparking a series of new tariff measures.
Trump's talk of making Canada a "51st state" has also helped to increase tensions between the North American neighbours.
Von der Leyen did not give details on how any Canadian membership would work, but listed manufacturing, technology, AI, defence, energy, critical minerals and economic security as key areas for cooperation.
Associate membership of the EU does not currently exist and the process, if agreed, could take several years.
But Clarke described the offer from the EU as "momentous".
“This is a momentous moment for the European and Canadian economies. It would link the EU, the world biggest free market for goods and services, with one of the planet’s biggest national economies," he said.
Some countries in the western Balkans including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are already working towards full EU membership. Georgia and Moldova are also applying.
The EU’s 27 member nations will now vote on the associate member proposal.
