Canada, European Union officials drop ‘associate member’ from joint summit declaration

By Maria Cheng and Andrew Gray

OTTAWA/BRUSSELS, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Canada and the European Union agreed to “ever closer association” but dropped the contentious idea of associate EU membership in a joint declaration seen by Reuters ahead of a Montreal summit hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney starting on Thursday.

The declaration, which officials plan to make public on Friday, said work to define the Canada-EU relationship would continue until another summit next year. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s suggestion of associate membership six weeks ago had been a divisive issue in negotiations among EU countries on the summit declaration, with Germany leading a group that argued they could not sign up to a concept that had no legal status and had not been fleshed out, diplomats said.

Deeper ties to Europe are an important part of Carney’s strategy to reduce Canada’s economic and security reliance on the US since President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. Still, Canada’s efforts to draw closer to the EU risk angering Trump as trade talks between Canada and the US continue.

There is no precedent or legal definition for an EU “associate member.”

Trump previously called the EU’s proposal to make Canada an associate member “laughable” and said if he interpreted the move as a “hostile act,” the US might stop trading with Europe “on many things.”

Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the summit this week is the launch of further formal negotiations that will take another year.

“The good news is it doesn’t matter about specific names or nomenclature,” Carney said. “What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians.”

A previous draft statement had included at least two references to Canada as an associate member, including an acknowledgment that defining the term would take another year.

The statement includes a joint initiative to improve international connectivity between Europe, Canada and Asia through “new subsea cable infrastructure.” It also proposes conducting a joint feasibility study on Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe and enabling young Canadians and Europeans to work across the Atlantic.  

Julian Karaguesian, a former adviser at Canada’s Finance Ministry, described the summit as “a bit of a show.” “Canada’s effort to be closer friends with the EU is very ill-defined,” he said, adding that increased collaboration with the EU would not necessarily address Carney’s drive to diversify the country’s relationships. Canada ships nearly 70% of its exports to the US while the EU accounts for about 9% of Canada’s total trade.

Carney’s office declined to comment.

    ‘HIGHLY PROVOCATIVE’ STATEMENT

The statement says European and Canadian leaders pledge to reaffirm their commitment to a rules-based international order and that they “deeply regret” the sanctions the US imposed on the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.

“All that talk of multilateralism and support for international law is basically like sticking a finger into President Trump’s eye,” said Barry Appleton, an international trade lawyer and fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario.

Appleton said Canada and the EU agreeing to work closely on economic security measures might anger the US. He added that the statement commits Canada to making its AI and digital rules work alongside Europe’s, when Washington considers EU-style digital regulation a trade barrier. 

“This is a highly provocative statement from the EU and Canada,” Appleton said.

The White House said in response to a request for comment that US and Canadian trade officials are talking.

EU officials said at a briefing Tuesday that the summit was a “historic milestone,” saying it was about renewing their commitment to Canada and shaping an ambitious new chapter in the partnership. They said all member states support the closest possible relationship with Canada.  

(Reporting by Maria Cheng and Andrew Gray; Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Julia Payne in Brussels and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Editing by Caroline Stauffer, Daniel Wallis, Keith Weir, Rod Nickel)