European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday that the European Union is opening the door for Canada to become the bloc’s inaugural associate member. The declaration represents a notable shift in EU policy and underscores a substantial deepening of relations between Brussels and Ottawa. Delivering her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, France, von der Leyen expressed the bloc’s desire to elevate ties with Canada “to the highest level possible.” “And, dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships so I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union,” von der Leyen stated, addressing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended the speech and is scheduled to speak to EU lawmakers Thursday. Carney has previously indicated Ottawa’s interest in pursuing a “unique security and economic alliance” with Europe, though not full membership. Canada is currently embroiled in a fierce trade dispute with the U.S. and has vowed to reciprocate President Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar for dollar. Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU and Canada “see the world with the same eyes” and committed to collaborating on artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitics, and Arctic security. The two parties already share a free trade agreement — the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) — which provisionally took effect in 2017 and eliminated 99% of tariff lines. “We will move from CETA to an alliance for the future, to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” von der Leyen said. The EU has historically resisted flexible membership categories, notably when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz advocated for associate membership for Ukraine earlier this year. Asked whether von der Leyen’s move to embrace Canada as the EU’s first associate member marks a historic moment, Berenberg’s chief economist Holger Schmieding told Verum’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday, “I think this is a big step, indeed.” “Europe is trying to openly form new partnerships or deepen partnerships with all countries in the world that are sort of like-minded,” Schmieding added. “It is not necessarily against the U.S., but it is clearly in favor of making us less dependent on the U.S. and less dependent on China, and that deeper partnership with other countries, like-minded democracies, is actually something we see in the economic re-arm.” In early June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb outlined a vision for a significantly expanded European Union, urging the bloc to “think big” to project global influence. As part of this, Stubb suggested the EU could grow to 40 members and named Canada, the U.K., Turkey, Norway, and Iceland as potential candidates. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?” Stubb remarked on June 3, referencing Trump’s aspirations to annex Canada. ‘Middle powers’ At the start of the year, Carney told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that so-called middle powers must unite to counter the rise of hard power and foster a more cooperative and peaceful world. “We have a situation where it is totally unpredictable what the United States are doing and we have aggressive industrial policy by China — and therefore, it’s so important that we strengthen our ties with democratic countries, and Canada is one example,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, told Verum on Wednesday. Alongside Ottawa, Lange said the EU should pursue stronger economic ties with Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea. “It’s so important that we work together and build a bloc and as Mr. Carney … mentioned in Davos, you have to be strong and sit at the table, otherwise you will be part of the menu,” he added.

Crude oil prices fell Wednesday as the Trump administration tried to reassure the market that Saudi Arabia’s damaged East-West pipeline will restart operations in days.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday that the pipeline outage is a “brief and temporary interruption” that “will be measured in days.”

But independent analysts warned the pipeline could remain down for weeks based on satellite images showing significant damage to a pumping station.

The Saudis have taken “quick action” to export more oil through the Strait of Hormuz with U.S. military help while the pipeline is down, Wright said.

Four supertankers that can carry 8 million barrels total were observed loading at Saudi’s Persian Gulf ports of Ras Tanura and Juaymah on Tuesday, said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler.

“They are likely going to be part of the shuttling effort via the Omani route through the Strait,” Smith said.

Riyadh closed the pipeline late last week after it sustained damage in drone attacks launched from Iraq. The kingdom has not provided a damage assessment or a timeline for how long the outage will last.

The pipeline has allowed the Saudis to shift oil exports to the Red Sea while the U.S. and Iran battle for control over Hormuz. The strait was the Gulf states’ main export corridor before the war.

The U.S. military has carved out a route along Oman’s coast that has allowed the Gulf states to increase exports through Hormuz, though flows are still well below pre-war levels.

The journey remains dangerous even with U.S. protection as Iran continues to attack tankers. At least two vessels have come under attack in Hormuz since Saturday, according to incident reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.

Market Insider

Market Insider

Top Stocks Making Big Moves Midday: SpaceX, Lumentum, Diamondback Energy, J.B. Hunt & More

Here are some of the companies making headlines in midday trading. Artificial intelligence infrastructure – Shares of companies involved in the AI buildout jumped following several losing sessions. AI cloud computing play CoreWeave jumped more than 4% and Nebius rose nearly 5%, putting both stocks on track to snap a five-day slide. Photonics plays Lumentum and Coherent rose 8% and 6%, respectively, while Dell advanced 5%. SpaceX – Shares of Elon Musk’s rocket company advanced 5%. SpaceX announced the next test for its Starship rocket, set for launch Sept. 22. In this flight, the company also plans to deploy Starlink V3 satellites. Honeywell Technologies – The developer of automation solutions jumped almost 3%. In a presentation at Morgan Stanley’s Laguna Industrials Conference, leadership said that strong second-quarter orders and a solid start to the third quarter are supporting a favorable setup heading into year end and 2027. FTAI Aviation – The supplier of aircraft engines added 5% after announcing that its board approved a $500 million share buyback program. SK Hynix, Intel — The chipmakers rose after a Reuters report that SK Hynix was in talks with Intel to manufacture memory chips in the U.S. for the first time. SK Hynix added 2%, while Intel jumped 5%. SK Hynix said that no decisions have been made regarding any partnership with Intel. J.B. Hunt Transport Services — Shares of the transportation and logistics company slid nearly 13% after the company warned that its earnings may tumble in the third quarter between 5% to 10%, compared to the previous three-month period. J.B. Hunt said the decline has been due to internal adjustments to account for rising rates of purchase transportation. Expedia — The online travel company slipped about 1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight. Analysts at the bank said shares have a weak risk/reward profile, particularly with greater exposure to a potentially weaker consumer. Energy stocks — U.S. oil prices fell more than 3% after a report said energy inventories rose last week, sending energy stocks lower. Diamondback Energy declined 8%, while Occidental Petroleum was off 5%. ExxonMobil lost nearly 3%, and Devon Energy dropped 4%. —CNBC’s Nick Wells and Darla Mercado contributed reporting.

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