Former New Zealand PM: Associate membership with Brussels "very interesting" for the country
Video. Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, says a form of associate membership of the European Union, similar to the proposal for Canada, would be “very interesting”. She highlights access to the single market as a potential key benefit for a “distant trading country” such as New Zealand.
Updated: 09/10/2026 - 10:12 GMT+2
Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, says a form of associate membership of the European Union, similar to the proposal for Canada, would be “very interesting”. She highlights access to the single market as a potential key benefit for a “distant trading country” such as New Zealand.
Clark also urges the European Commission to “engage with China” as Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič visits the country for trade talks. China is “a huge economy”, she says, adding that Western nations must “work out how we engage and how we interact” with it.
