European Union drops idea of Canada becoming an “associate member”

The European Union has removed the terms “associate member” and “associated membership” from a draft joint statement with Canada, according to Reuters and Germany’s dpa news agency. The statement is expected to be made public on Friday as the EU-Canada summit begins in Montreal, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal in September had divided EU countries, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among those pushing to drop the wording. The draft instead calls for an “ever closer association” and proposes a study of Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Europe, youth work opportunities across the Atlantic, and subsea cable infrastructure linking Europe, Canada and Asia.