Chancellor Merz and other heads of government are putting the brakes on Ursula von der Leyen's plans for a kind of special EU membership for Canada. However, the person affected doesn't want to give up so quickly.
Setback for Ursula von der Leyen's Canada plans: Chancellor Friedrich Merz, together with colleagues, ensured that the term "associated member" is not used for Canada for the time being.
Brussels. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has failed for the time being with her push for associated EU membership for Canada. As the German Press Agency learned from diplomats in Brussels, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and several other heads of state and government from EU countries ensured that the terms “associated membership” and “associate member” were deleted from the draft of the planned final declaration of the EU-Canada summit starting this Thursday. Originally planned far-reaching commitments to financial market integration and mutual preferential treatment in economic security measures have also been weakened.
Instead, the text now says that a concept for “ever closer ties between Canada and the EU” is to be developed by the EU-Canada summit next year. It was adopted by the EU states in a written procedure on Wednesday evening and is due to be published on Friday at the end of the two-day summit in Montreal.
At the meeting in Montreal, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen actually wanted to officially launch Canada's “associated membership”. She had previously proposed it in a speech in September in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, attracting a lot of attention. In addition to Carney and von der Leyen, EU Council President António Costa and a number of EU commissioners are also taking part in the summit in Montreal.
EU diplomats cited the unclear meaning of the planned special status and the Commission's insufficient prior coordination with the Council of Member States as the reasons for member states' resistance to the use of the term "associated membership". It was also viewed as problematic that the term was already being used in connection with Ukraine's EU accession process.
In June, Chancellor Merz proposed “associated membership” for Ukraine as an interim step on the way to regular EU accession. According to his ideas, Ukraine could regularly take part in summit meetings or ministerial councils before accession.
Von der Leyen then used the term completely differently in September, apparently without consulting Merz. From their point of view, in the context of Canada, it should make it clear that a non-EU country without a legal opportunity to join will be linked as closely as possible to the EU. In principle, it is planned that both sides will coordinate their policies even more closely with one another in areas such as energy, climate protection, technology and security. In addition, Canada should be more fully involved in EU programs for research, education and defense.
The aim is also to reduce dependencies on other countries. The background is the loss of trust in the USA under President Donald Trump. Customs conflicts and Trump's territorial claims have increased doubts on both sides of the Atlantic about the reliability of the previous partner.
In his initial reaction, Trump described Canada's push for associated EU membership as ridiculous. He even threatened consequences if it was deemed to be a “hostile act” that harmed US interests. He would then impose high tariffs or stop trade with Europe in many areas, he warned.
In the final EU draft for the final declaration, the term “Alliance for the Future”, which has so far been used primarily by Carney, dominates. With it, both sides want to reduce trade barriers, facilitate investments and ensure that important raw materials, medicines and technologies remain available even in times of crisis. According to the text, for example, an investigation is planned into the question of whether additional liquefied natural gas exports from Canada to Europe are feasible. However, the previous wording according to which Canada will in future participate in exchanges and consultations on important political and regulatory initiatives as an “associated member of the Union” has been deleted.
Some economic commitments have also been weakened. Instead of guaranteeing each other favorable treatment when it comes to economic security measures, both sides now only want to try to limit negative effects on each other as much as possible. The explicit goal of greater integration of the financial markets was also eliminated. According to diplomats, in addition to Germany, Italy and France, among others, also expressed concerns about the original text.
Carney initially did not attach great importance to the deletion of the term “associate membership”. He said of the dispute in the EU: "It's not about specific names or terminology. What's important is what difference it will make to the lives of Canadians."
Ursula von der Leyen reacted defiantly to the resistance from Merz & Co. After landing in Canada, she made it clear on social media that she did not want to give up the fight for the term. The EU Commission's aim is to bind Canada more closely to the EU than ever before, she wrote - and then added: "as an associated member of the EU".
