Canada and EU target closer association by 2027 summit

Canada and the European Union agreed at a summit in Montreal to work toward defining a closer association by their 2027 summit, while leaving unresolved whether the partnership will be called “associate membership.” The proposed framework would fall short of full EU membership, and its terms have yet to be established. The joint statement from the summit commits the sides to defining the concept of an “ever-closer association” by the 2027 Canada-EU Summit. It does not use the term “associate member,” a label that has not been accepted by the EU’s 27 member states. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada wants the deepest partnership possible short of accession. He has said he is more focused on the economic and defence outcomes than on the name attached to the arrangement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also backed a closer relationship, describing it as a partnership that would come closer to membership than previous arrangements. The agreement’s eventual scope remains to be negotiated. The joint statement calls for greater industrial collaboration and supply-chain integration, and the sides plan to establish a Canada-EU business council. Canada’s Prime...