EU governments have removed a proposal to offer Canada "associate member" status from a draft joint statement for this week's EU-Canada summit in Montreal, Politico Europe reports, citing the latest version of the text.
Diplomats told the outlet that Germany, Italy, Greece and France were among the countries that objected. The idea had been put forward by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the European Union speech in September, surprising some capitals.
The new wording instead promises to build an "ever closer association" between Canada and the EU, and to define that concept by the 2027 summit, while stating it falls short of full membership. An earlier draft had committed both sides to defining an associate membership by then. The text still needs final sign-off, with member states given until 6pm to raise objections.
Source: Politico Europe
