Canada targets EU associate partnership agreement within seven months, says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada and the European Union are working toward a new partnership that could be signed within the next seven months. The agreement would create the deepest level of cooperation short of full accession, making Canada the EU’s first associate member.

In recent meetings in Montreal, Canadian and EU officials adopted a joint statement calling for an “ever-closer association” to be defined by the 2027 EU-Canada summit. The statement also outlined plans for greater industrial collaboration, supply-chain integration and the creation of a Canada-EU business council.

“We believe in building a partnership with Canada that comes closer to membership than anything we’ve done before,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“There is a case for an enhanced partnership status. Maybe finding a different label will eventually do the trick, but that remains to be seen,” said Achim Hurrelmann, co-director of the Centre for European Studies at Carleton University.

Hurrelmann cautioned that establishing an associate-member status could be difficult, noting the need for approval from all 27 EU member states and the political uncertainties surrounding upcoming elections in Spain, France and Poland.

Carney said he will meet EU leaders periodically, with a Canadian cabinet meeting scheduled for March and his attendance at the European Council in June, when negotiations are expected to conclude. The resulting agreement would require ratification by the EU and a vote in Canada’s House of Commons.

The Prime Minister’s Office added that the two sides will also begin work on a transatlantic data cable and explore increased liquefied natural gas exports to Europe.