But a kind of "associated member": The EU summit

But a kind of "associated member": The EU-Canada Summit ends with a surprise The EU has long debated what its relationship with Canada should look like. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has seen her vision prevail. This might be surprising even for Switzerland and the EEA countries. In particular, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen charged the EU-Canada summit, which took place in Montreal on Thursday and Friday, with great significance. She held fast to her vision that the North American country should become the "first associated EU member," although this met with resistance from some EU countries. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also seemed to go too far with this vision. Canadian Prime Minister with surprising choice of words What Carney and von der Leyen said at the end of the summit was even more surprising. Surprisingly, Canada's Prime Minister also used the term "associated EU member." Von der Leyen suggested that Canada and the EU were striving for a connection as close to EU membership as possible ("ever-closer association short of full membership"). This was also stated in a joint declaration by the two powers. Specifically, this means, for example, that Canadian students should study in Europe under Erasmus in the future. The participation of Canadian scientists in the Horizon research program is also planned. Furthermore, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance raw material projects in Canada to make Europe more independent from China in this area. Canada will also participate in the European satellite programs Galileo and Iris 2. Finally, a commitment made by Carney to Ukraine was very concrete: his country would contribute 500 million euros to the EU's 90-billion-euro loan for the war-torn country. This money covers weapon purchases, but also administrative expenses of Ukraine in this and the coming year. Canada participates in Ukraine loans The term associated membership is likely to be debated—not just in Brussels. The EEA countries Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, as well as Switzerland, which is closely linked to the EU through bilateral treaties, might also be surprised. They see themselves as the closest partners of the EU. And they can refer to detailed agreements, while "associated membership" in the EU does not exist at all. Why is von der Leyen still insisting on this concept? A benevolent interpretation suggests that only by setting ambitious, even seemingly unrealistic goals, is the EU making progress. However, there is a less charitable view of von der Leyen's initiative. According to this view, she has succumbed once again to her penchant for making visionary announcements, and member states must now grudgingly follow suit. Germany, in particular, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz were displeased with von der Leyen's advance moves. He considers the status the Commission President wants to reserve for Canada and possibly other non-European states more suitable for Ukraine as an accession candidate. This is because it is difficult to imagine from today's perspective that a country as large as Ukraine can join the EU right away. Therefore, admission in stages, perhaps through the status of associated member, seems like a worthy alternative. Especially since the view of how "European" Canada actually is is probably somewhat naive. The country's newspapers have emphasized in recent days that Canada is still much closer to the USA than to Europe—Donald Trump's threats haven't changed that much. For example, two-thirds of Canadians live within a maximum of one hundred kilometers of the American border. And around two-thirds of export goods go to the neighboring country. Also culturally, for instance in film and literature, the USA almost completely dominates Canada. Therefore, Canada's economic and cultural entanglement with the USA is at least as close as Switzerland's relationship with the southern states of Germany. Common concerns about the USA All this overshadowed the euphoria that Canada could become a very close partner of the EU. The reason for this is a problem that plagues both countries: the great dependence on the USA, which under President Trump has become an unpredictable partner. Canada and the EU want and must diversify economically, and it is natural to explore common interests. However, the EU could simply have called it "discussions about possibilities for deepening in selected economic and political fields." But the two powers apparently did not want to be that dryly bureaucratic in tense times, even though that is actually what it is about. Therefore, von der Leyen preferred to say: Canada and the EU share the same view of the world. And Carney spoke of a "historic day." What associated membership exactly means they want to define more clearly at a summit next year.