EU backs away from offer to Canada to start ‘associate member’ talks

Mark Carney e a presidente do Parlamento Europeu, Roberta Metsola, em Estrasburgo no mês passado. Fotografia: Ahmet Sel/Anadolu/Getty Images. Ver imagem em tela cheia.

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleThe EU has backed away from its offer to Canada to start talks on becoming an “associate member” after disagreements between members states just as an EU-Canada summit was set to begin in Montreal.

A draft of a joint statement to be issued after the end of the summit, which runs Thursday and Friday, showed a watered-down version offering “an ever closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself”.

A questão foi desencadeada depois que a presidente da Comissão Europeia, Ursula von der Leyen, surpreendeu quase todos ao anunciar, no discurso de Estado da União do último mês, que a UE consideraria "associação de membro" para o Canadá.

The declaration had been hailed as a landmark in EU history, offering a non-EU country such close ties to the bloc, which has not allowed any state membership since Croatia joined in 2013.

It was also seen as a sign that the call by Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, at the Davos summit in January for “middle powers” to work together was paying off.

But instead of announcing a work programme on developing “associate membership”, the draft communique, seen by the Guardian, states the two sides would “work to define by the 2027 EU-Canada summit the concept of an ever closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself, to reflect, through this even closer association, our common endeavour and cooperation towards our shared goals of prosperity, economic security and strategic autonomy”.

A adesão associada já havia sido proposta e rejeitada anteriormente para países como a Ucrânia.

Von der Leyen’s declaration caught EU capitals by surprise and led to pushback politically and legally. Given “associate status” has no definition, diplomats wondered about such issues as whether Canada could join the European Council, legislative bodies or decision-making processes without a vote.

At a meeting on Monday, ambassadors in the EU raised concerns about the dramatic offer, but vowed to make efforts to seek a diplomatic path to rescinding the offer of “associate” membership without embarrassing Von der Leyen.

Entende-se que a Itália sugeriu “associate membership as proposed by the commission”, com a definição a ser detalhada posteriormente pelos Estados-Membros.

A Alemanha recuou ainda mais, sugerindo a redação “an ever closer association of Canada” à UE.

Germany had argued that “associate membership” should be reserved as an interim step for prospective candidate countries, such as Ukraine or Montenegro, noting that the status has no formal grounding in current EU treaties.

Donald Trump, o presidente dos EUA, já chamou a proposta da UE de tornar o Canadá membro associado de “laughable”, e disse que, se ele interpretasse a medida como um “hostile act”, os EUA poderiam parar de negociar com a Europa “on many things”.

A bitter trade war with the US, a longtime ally, has seen Carney seek out new trading partnerships around the world. Ahead of the summit in Montreal, one of Canada’s largest banks released a report suggesting there was “meaningful” upside for Canada if it were to deepen economic ties with Europe.

Tens of billions of dollars in additional trade would be possible if barriers were removed in areas of overlapping interest such as defence, energy, critical minerals and digital markets, TD Economics said.

Carney has spoken specifically about the need to lessen reliance on Elon Musk‘s Starlink satellite network, following a decision to throttle its usage over Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Carney posted on social media that Canada would join the popular music competition Eurovision. But despite fears raised by political rivals, Carney has said Canada has no interest in formally joining the EU.

Alterar as leis canadenses para alinhá‑las com as nações europeias provavelmente seria impopular, apesar do apoio público a laços mais fortes.

Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the summit this week was the launch of further formal negotiations that will take place another year.

Uma versão preliminar de uma declaração anterior incluía pelo menos duas referências ao Canadá como “associate member”, incluindo o reconhecimento de que definir o termo levaria mais um ano.