Canada-EU Summit in Montreal Drops 'Associate Member' Idea, Promises 'Ever Closer Association'

Canada and the European Union have agreed to pursue “ever closer association” but dropped the contentious idea of making Canada an associate member of the EU, according to a joint declaration seen by Reuters ahead of a summit in Montreal starting on Thursday, October 29. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa for the two-day summit, which is expected to launch a year of formal negotiations on a deeper partnership the leaders are calling an “Alliance for the Future.”
The associate-membership idea, floated by von der Leyen six weeks ago, proved divisive among EU countries. Germany led a group arguing they could not sign up to a concept with no legal status that had not been fleshed out, diplomats said, and the draft declaration instead says work to define the relationship will continue until another summit next year. There is no precedent or legal definition for an EU “associate member,” and US President Donald Trump had previously called the proposal “laughable” and warned he might stop trading with Europe on many things if he saw it as a hostile act.
For Carney, closer ties to Europe are a key part of reducing Canada’s economic and security reliance on the United States since Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. “The good news is it doesn’t matter about specific names or nomenclature,” Carney told reporters on Tuesday. “What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians.” The two sides already trade heavily under the CETA deal, which has lifted goods and services trade by more than 80 percent over ten years, and the Montreal summit is meant to build on that foundation in trade, security and defence industry cooperation.
Source: read more
Comments
Post a Comment