The EU Offers Canada Closer Ties, Pending Agreement On What “Closer” Means

Canada’s invitation to become an “associate member” of the European Union has been downgraded to an invitation to help define “an ever closer association.” The relationship is moving forward. Mostly through a thesaurus.

The Guardian reports that a draft statement for this week’s Montreal summit replaces the membership language with a promise to define the new arrangement by the 2027 summit. This is still a draft, not a signed agreement. Even the sentence explaining that nothing has been defined has not finished its approval process.

Ursula von der Leyen floated associate membership last month. EU capitals then asked what it meant, who had approved it and whether Canada would get a place in institutions where countries make decisions. Associate status has no formal basis in the current treaties. The commission president had announced a new seat at the table before checking whether the table extended.

Germany wanted that sort of status reserved as a possible intermediate step for countries seeking membership, such as Ukraine or Montenegro. Italy suggested keeping the offer while attributing it to the commission. A lovely diplomatic compromise: we support this exciting idea, whose owner we have clearly labeled.

There is a substantial project underneath the stationery. Canada wants trading partners beyond a United States busy making that relationship unpleasant. TD Economics sees potential for tens of billions of dollars in additional trade if barriers fall in areas including defense, energy and critical minerals. Those are actual reasons to negotiate. Nobody has ever powered a factory with an adjective, however close.

Mark Carney says Canada does not want full EU membership and that the precise name matters less than benefits for Canadians. Fair enough. He has also announced Canada will join Eurovision.

So the continent may get Canada’s song before it agrees on Canada’s chair. At least one of those negotiations comes with a time limit.