Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Canada’s future with the European Union, a war crimes conviction against former Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, and alleged Houthi targeting of the holy city of Mecca.
The EU Looks Across the Pond
Could the European Union expand beyond Europe? Some experts argue that being part of the continent is an integral component of membership. But that is the proposal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated on Wednesday, when she suggested making Canada the bloc’s first associate member.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Canada’s future with the European Union, a war crimes conviction against former Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, and alleged Houthi targeting of the holy city of Mecca.
The EU Looks Across the Pond
Could the European Union expand beyond Europe? Some experts argue that being part of the continent is an integral component of membership. But that is the proposal European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated on Wednesday, when she suggested making Canada the bloc’s first associate member.
“We must urgently reimagine our partnerships,” von der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union address. With Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seated on her left, von der Leyen outlined what such a future might look like, starting with an expansion of their existing free-trade agreement.
Carney has been pitching such an arrangement to European officials for months. A Canadian official told The Associated Press last week that the two sides are discussing potential ties that stop just short of full membership. This could include allowing Canadian citizens to live and work in EU member states without needing a visa. An expanded partnership might also bolster collaboration in defense production, critical minerals procurement, economic security, and the development of artificial intelligence, among others.
Canada wants “to get as close as we possibly can” to the bloc, Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador-designate to the EU, said on Wednesday, adding that further discussions are expected to take place at the Canada-EU summit in October. Under EU regulations, the bloc requires unanimous approval to welcome new members.
Although von der Leyen insisted on Wednesday that the Canada proposal is “not a partnership against anyone else,” the gesture comes at a time when both Canada’s and Europe’s relations with the United States under President Donald Trump are greatly strained.
Last month, the White House imposed sweeping tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting “dollar for dollar” retaliatory duties on around 700 U.S. products. This was in spite of Canada being one of the United States’ largest trading partners; bilateral trade accounted for around $872.3 billion in 2025. Alongside a recent war of words between Trump and Ontario Premier Doug Ford as well as the U.S. president’s repeated threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, Ottawa has begun to prioritize its relationship with the EU over what it once considered its closest partner.
But not everyone in Europe appears thrilled with von der Leyen’s proposal. “Of all the third countries, Canada is one of the few that we all want to get closer to right now,” an EU diplomat told the Financial Times. “But even with them, we all know we have to be careful when you start talking about trade access and preferential treatment.” Notably, 10 EU member states have yet to ratify the bloc’s 2017 free-trade deal with Canada, citing several provisions that they argue favor Canadian investors.
Whether the idea ever materializes, the fact that it’s being talked about at such high levels is a sign of what Carney called the “rupture in the world order.” The Canadian premier will take the stage on Thursday to address the European Parliament.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
Guilty of war crimes. Former Kosovar President Hashim Thaci was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of orchestrating war crimes during the country’s brutal fight for independence against Serbia in the late 1990s. He continues to deny any wrongdoing and is expected to appeal the ruling.
The sentence was handed down by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a special tribunal at The Hague. According to the tribunal, Thaci oversaw the murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and abuse of alleged opponents, including ethnic minorities and perceived collaborators, while serving as the top commander of the since-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). “The vast majority of them were innocent civilians,” the tribunal said of Thaci’s victims. Thaci was sentenced alongside three other senior members of the ethnic Albanian KLA.
Wednesday’s ruling is expected to heighten divisions between Serbians and Kosovar Albanians, the latter of whom often regard Thaci as a hero for his contribution to Kosovo’s independence. Clashes broke out between Thaci supporters and security at The Hague when protesters tried to walk to the tribunal. Incumbent Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemned Wednesday’s ruling, saying, “While the verdict may have been formally pronounced in the name of the people of Kosovo, this hollow formula must not be conflated with the will of the people.”
Mecca is under fire. Saudi forces claimed on Wednesday local time to have intercepted a Houthi drone targeting the holy Muslim city of Mecca the day before. According to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, the attempted attack crossed a “red line,” as it was “intended to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims.” The Organization of Islamic Cooperation similarly denounced the operation as a “heinous” assault.
This is the first alleged Houthi strike aimed at Mecca since fighting erupted between the Iranian proxy group and Saudi-backed forces in July. The Houthis denied Riyadh’s allegations, with rebel spokesperson Hazem al-Assad saying, “The claims about targeting Mecca are a worn-out lie that has been used before and no longer fools anyone.”
Both sides have escalated their assaults in recent days. On Wednesday, Saudi warplanes struck Yemeni territory, and Houthi troops attacked Red Sea port cities and Saudi military bases. Such assaults have exacerbated the already tenuous global energy crisis and injected further insecurity into the war-embroiled Middle East.
Seeking peace. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo resumed peace talks in Geneva on Wednesday, alongside mediators from Qatar, Togo, and the United States. The two-day session—the seventh meeting since the two countries signed a U.S.-brokered peace accord last year—aims to address continued fighting in eastern Congo between Congolese forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
Less than a year ago, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed an agreement in Washington to end the deadly conflict. However, without M23 representatives in attendance—and Kigali maintaining that it does not support the rebel group despite U.N. evidence to the contrary—Trump’s self-proclaimed “historic” peace deal did little to actually quell the fighting; just days after the December 2025 signing, around 200,000 people fled renewed violence in the region.
Since then, the situation in eastern Congo has continued to deteriorate despite repeated cease-fire attempts. During this week’s talks, Kigali is expected to seek assurances that armed groups will not be allowed to operate in Congolese territory, while Kinshasa asserts that foreign security forces have no right to Congolese soil.
Odds and Ends
A Paris court awarded Kim Kardashian 1 euro (or $1.15) on Tuesday as compensation for being the victim of an armed robbery in 2016. Kardashian was at the Hôtel de Pourtalès for Paris Fashion Week when a gang of eight thieves, six of whom are currently in their 60s or 70s, bound the media personality with zip ties and stole more than $6 million in jewelry; the so-called grandpa robbers were found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping, among other charges, last year. Kardashian has since described the incident as “the most terrifying experience of my life” but only requested a symbolic 1 euro in restitution.
