EU dropping associate membership title for its closer alliance with Canada: Report
The revised draft keeps deeper cooperation on trade, energy and security while dropping the disputed associate-member label after Germany led objections.
- The European Union is removing the 'associate member' title from its draft joint declaration ahead of the 21st Canada-EU summit in Montreal on Thursday and Friday, replacing it with a commitment to 'ever closer association' with Canada.
- European Commission President Ursula proposed the 'associate member' status last month, but the designation faced objections from Germany, France, Italy, and Greece over legal and practical concerns.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz preferred reserving 'associate member' status for Ukraine to provide security guarantees; Berlin prioritized defining practical cooperation rather than adopting treaty-absent terms with potential legal implications.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed the nomenclature shift on Tuesday, saying 'The good news is it doesn't matter about specific names or nomenclature,' and emphasized Canada's goal of becoming more sovereign.
- The latest draft has been submitted for silent procedure and will be adopted unless a country objects later today, though sources stressed the EU-Canada document remains a draft and could change before week's end.
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EU drops 'associate member' offer to Canada as Germany, France balk
Credit: bne IntelliNewsEU countries have dropped an "associate member" offer to Canada from the Montreal summit statement, opting for vaguer talk of "ever closer association" short of full membership.
A number of EU countries, including France, Germany and Greece, have moved away from the idea promoted by the Chairman of the European Commission, Ursula von der Lien, to make Canada an "associate member" of its bloc.
The European Union withdrew the associated member's expression of the draft declaration of the EU-Canada summit (which takes place in the next two days) after Germany raised objections , replacing it with ever closer association .
Due to opposition from Germany, France and several other EU member states, the official launch of Canada's associated EU membership has been removed from the agenda for now. The EU-Canada summit starting on Thursday will no longer decide on the creation of the new status, but on how to develop the framework for closer cooperation between the two parties until 2027, which could even lead to a structure similar to the European Economic Area.
The European Union has renounced the proposal to grant Canada associate membership, after several Member States, including Germany, France and Greece, opposed the introduction of this formula in a joint declaration to be adopted at the EU-Canada Summit in Montreal. Instead of the status originally proposed by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the two sides agreed on the development of a closer cooperation relationship, with…
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