Canada22 October, 20263 min read
Archive photo · 12 August 2017Germany Leads Push To Remove EU “Associated Membership” Label For Canada
“Government websites in the EU and Canada taken offline over PHP vulnerability”
“The label is one of the main sticking points in talks over a joint declaration setting areas of deeper cooperation between Brussels and Ottawa ahead of the EU-Canada summit in Montreal”
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Germany, backed by France and others, opposes naming Canada as EU 'associate member'. The label is a major sticking point in negotiations over closer Canada-EU ties.
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EU label sparks resistance
Canada moves closer to the EU as talks with Montreal progress toward an EU-Canada summit in Montreal on October 29 and 30, but Germany, France and at least six other EU states resist the label “associated membership.” Politico and DIE WELT frame the dispute as a fight over wording in a joint declaration, with diplomats saying objections target the phrasing rather than the overarching goal of closer relations. Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, says the EU is “very interested in close cooperation with Canada,” while he also says he would avoid the term “associated membership.”
“‘We’ve definitely put the cart before the horse,’ one diplomat said.”
EU diplomats say Germany is reportedly pressing the strongest to remove the designation from the draft declaration, and they add that “We clearly put the cart before the horse,” one diplomat said. The European Commission will now conduct talks and work toward an acceptable formulation, with an EU official emphasizing, “What matters is what we do, not what we call it.”
What “associate member” means
The designation “associated member” is meant to convey that EU-Canada relations are closer than Brussels’ partnerships with other countries, without making Canada a member of the Union, according to diplomats described by POLITICO.eu. The EU founding treaties limit formal membership geographically to Europe, and diplomats say Canada cannot become a formal member because Canada lies on a different continent. The plan described by POLITICO.eu calls for identifying practical areas for cooperation first, then deciding whether new treaties or formal negotiations are needed, with work on six priority areas expected to begin after the summit.
POLITICO.eu says progress should be reviewed after six months and a stock-take should occur a year later at the next EU-Canada summit, which would be held in Europe. DIE WELT adds that a comprehensive stocktaking would examine whether Canada has moved closer to the EU through full membership in the Horizon Europe research program and the Erasmus exchange program, and whether it builds submarine cables together with the EU and stockpiles critical raw materials.
Summit draft and security patch
The Globe and Mail reports that a draft joint statement for the Montreal summit next week would launch a new “alliance for the future” on trade and defence co-operation and would treat Canada as an “associate member” of the 27-country economic bloc going forward. The draft statement says Canada and the EU will co-operate to “increase cross-border capital flows, strengthen financial market integration, and improve opportunities for consumers, financial institutions, businesses and investors,” and it also commits them to “connecting instant payment systems” for faster transactions. The Globe and Mail also reports that an official at a meeting of ambassadors to the EU said seven of the 27 countries rejected the inclusion of “associate member” in the text of the communiqué for the Montreal summit.
Engadget shifts to a separate Canada-linked issue, saying government websites in the EU and Canada were taken offline over a PHP vulnerability after the PHP Foundation issued a security release to patch two critical vulnerabilities. Engadget quotes Tiffany Farriss, interim CEO of the Drupal Association, saying, “All servers using any version of PHP released in the last 20 years will be vulnerable,” and it adds that Evan Solomon posted on X about temporarily going offline.