Canada and EU Pledge a Deeper Corporate-State Alliance in New 'Associate Membership' Push Ahead of Montreal Summit
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Canada and the European Union are negotiating an expansive new partnership, framed as an 'associate membership', to tighten trade, digital rules and defence coordination, with final details due at the October summit in Montreal.
Canada and the European Union are working on a new partnership that would give Canada a status closer to EU membership than any previous arrangement, EU officials said. The exact terminology for the relationship is still under discussion, with some member states objecting to the use of "associate member" in the summit communique.
Three EU officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, briefed reporters on the upcoming Canada-EU summit scheduled for Oct. 29-30 in Montreal. They described the proposed status as a tailor-made association for Canada that would not apply to European countries, which can pursue full EU membership.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced the phrase "associate membership" last month, and she and other commission members are expected to meet Prime Minister Justin Carney’s government in Montreal to refine the arrangement.
"The good news is it doesn’t matter about specific names or nomenclature. What matters is the difference that it will make to lives of Canadians, young Canadians in terms of opportunities to study, work and travel, our Canadian businesses in terms of new opportunities, Canadian researchers in terms of depths of opportunity, and Canada as a whole becoming a more independent, more sovereign nation, so we can live our lives as we choose," Carney told reporters.
Carney reiterated that Canada has no intention of formally joining the EU, which would require alignment of its laws and regulations with the bloc’s.
The negotiations also cover a digital trade agreement that would set rules for online commerce, e-signatures, cross-border data flows and electronic transmissions, as well as a modernization of a nuclear cooperation pact with the European Atomic Energy Community. Additional cooperation areas include access to Europe’s supercomputing facilities, satellite navigation and secure communications networks, and joint measures to protect democratic processes from foreign interference.
A draft joint statement obtained by the Globe and Mail indicates that Canada will be treated as an "associate member" in the new "alliance for the future" on trade and defence. The statement also notes an agreement with the European Investment Bank to facilitate European investment in Canadian critical raw materials and to improve cross-border capital flows, financial market integration and instant payment systems.
The final wording of the partnership will be confirmed at the summit, with revisions expected before the official release.