Canada and EU drop associate membership plan in bid to deepen ties

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”. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertise...