http://dx.doi.org/10.59704/3e1555c5b6b7d44b https://verfassungsblog.de/associate-membership-of-the-eu/ Associate Membership of the EU - An Idea Whose Time Has Come Duff, Andrew eng 2026-09-25 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 Ursula von der Leyen’s call for Canada to become the EU’s “first associate member” caught most people by surprise. Almost all the media dismissed the idea. We federalists, however, should thank the Commission President for injecting a refreshing note of realism into EU politics. This paper suggests adding a new article to the TEU. Member States should address the design of the new model in a positive manner and agree to depart from the rule of rigid unanimity that so hampers deeper political integration in a larger Union.