David Price, EuroDemocracy and Schuman Info.

I want to come back to the question of Canada and the associate membership or associate agreement.

The Commission is the guardian of the Treaties, and there was a very elegant solution for association,

which was made in the 1950s with the European Community and the United Kingdom,

and it lasted for a couple of decades before the the European kingdom became a member.

I am wondering whether this solution,

which was to create an association Council which was tied to the European Commission or high authority it was has been considered because it is a very short treaty of 15 articles,

it created a standing committee with 4 Members from each side and discussed and exchanged information

on a number of topics of great importance to all of them and included, for example, consumer,

consumer issues. What discussions taking place inside the Commission relative to this precedent for creating associations with external bodies and countries and has anything been taken forward on it,

as the Commission, as I say, is the guardian of the Treaties and this was probably one of the first

that was ever made. David, if my memory serves me correctly, that agreement that you're referring to in the 50s with the UK was with the coal and steel community, so based on a different treaty,

and we do not really have the same type of mechanism that is foreseen in the current treaty for the European Union,

so I cannot say that this has been the basis or inspiration for what is being discussed and flagged today.

And today, indeed when we speak of Canada, when we speak of never closer relations with Canada, which stops short of full membership because also based on the treaty Canada cannot become an EU Member State,

we are looking into really bringing Canada closer to the EU,

closer than any other non-EU country.

Closer than anything we have done before in terms of closer alignment and cooperation on policies, on programs, on governance,

and I invite you to also read the speech from the President yesterday in Canada,

where she also elaborates on what this closer,

ever closer relation with Canada.

And gives concrete examples and reminds that it is time to work on new frontiers together,

which is very much inspired on what Germany wrote when he came back from Canada himself at the beginning of the 20th century. Yes, David.

The idea of geography is a bit of a red herring because part of Canada is.

Also part of the illegal sovereignty of the European Union, which is Saint Pierre Michelo.

So geography was not considered as part of the way to discuss this problem.

And it was discussed on the basis of European human rights law and specifically the Council of Europe human rights law,

so I wonder whether those principles have been discussed, because it is extraordinary that people talk about geography,

and geography has got nothing to do with it.

Cyprus was considered to be part of Asia before it joined and part of the sovereignty of the European Union.

Is worldwide, including South America, Canada, North America and Asia, and so on,

so I wonder whether the basic principles of that first association Agreement should be looked at more carefully.

It sounds like you have not actually considered it. David, thank you and without entering into.

Discussions on geography,

I can assure you and confirm that it's really precisely based on principles and very solid principles and values that we share with Canada that we are having this discussion for an ever closer relation and.

Those principles are also being reiterated, recalled by the leaders, the 3 leaders present in Montreal today,

and we will have the occasion to hear more from President von der Leyen on this at the joint press conference this afternoon.

I have Pierre Bénazet online.