Despite the country's small population, Finland's President Alexander Stubb has become a prominent political voice, not only in Europe but also around the world. Now he is putting forward a proposal that many have surely been considering for a long time, but which until now has seemed like a fantasy.
Stubb says (thanks, CNBC) that the global situation calls for an expansion of the EU, and suggests that the union should include Canada, among others:
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if Canada were the 28th member state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?"
Currently, nine countries are seeking EU membership: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. They are at different stages of the process, and several of them face various obstacles standing in the way of membership.
One can imagine that a very well-governed and peaceful nation like Canada would, at least in theory, find it easy to become a member, even though it is not located in Europe at all.