EU considering Canada as ‘associate member,’ von der Leyen says, despite internal opposition

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU and Canada continue to explore Canada becoming the union’s first “associate member,” a term so divisive among member countries that it does not appear in a joint declaration. The European Union and Canada aim to deepen cooperation on AI, climate, energy and security, von der Leyen said in a speech at a Canada-EU summit in Montreal. The associate member term, which Germany and several other EU countries oppose, has no legal meaning. “Our idea is simple: it is an association without accession,” von der Leyen said. “We can build a partnership that comes closer to membership than anything we have done before. ” “We can work on everything, from AI and climate to energy or security,” she said.

Canadian and EU leaders, however, dropped the idea of associate EU membership from their joint declaration, seen by Reuters, agreeing instead to an “ever closer association. ” 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. CANADA SEEKING TO REDUCE US DEPENDENCE Deeper ties ​to Europe are part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy to reduce Canada’s economic and security reliance on the US since ⁠President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Still, Canada’s efforts to draw closer to the EU risk angering Trump as trade talks between Canada and the US ​continue. Von der Leyen first floated associate membership for Canada six weeks ago, prompting a rebuke from countries that argued they could not agree to a concept that had no legal status and had not been fleshed out, diplomats said. Three EU diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were surprised von der Leyen…