EU Summit Draft Drops Canada Associate Label
The term was stripped from a joint declaration after EU leaders pushed back, though the document still calls for closer ties.
By Amit Chukwu ·
The European Union has dropped the term "associate member" from a draft declaration prepared for its summit with Canada, according to reports by the German news agency dpa and Reuters published Thursday. Officials plan to release the joint statement publicly on Friday.
The summit opened later Thursday in Montreal, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had proposed in September that Canada could become the first associate member of the 27-nation bloc.
Diplomats told dpa and Reuters that the wording proved divisive during negotiations over the declaration. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other member state leaders pushed to have the terms removed.
The revised document instead refers to an "ever closer association" between Canada and the EU. It outlines a joint initiative to improve connectivity between Europe, Canada and Asia through "new subsea cable infrastructure", a joint feasibility study on exports of Canadian liquefied natural gas to Europe, and measures allowing young Canadians and Europeans to work across the Atlantic.
Carney has pursued closer European ties to reduce Canada's economic and security dependence on the United States, a push that began after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. The EU ranks as Canada's second-largest trading partner; the US remains Ottawa's largest.
The proposal drew sharp words from Washington. Trump called associate membership "laughable" and said that if he viewed the move as a "hostile act", the US might stop trading with Europe "on many things". Trade talks between Canada and the US continue.
Carney told reporters Tuesday that the summit would launch formal negotiations between the EU and Canada, with talks expected to take another year. "The good news is it doesn't matter about specific names or nomenclature," he said. "What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians."
The EU is Canada's second-largest trading partner. Trade relations with Washington have been strained under Trump.
Source: Al Jazeera
