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The EU did not include the idea of Canada’s associate membership in the final declaration

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Following the EU–Canada summit, the idea of granting Canada the status of an “associate member” of the community was not included in the final declaration. The wording was removed after objections from Germany and replaced with words about “an increasingly close association”.

At the final press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada “will become the first associate member of the European Union”. According to him, in the coming months they will determine the “full content, scope, and reach” of this new form of membership. There is no concept of “associate membership” in EU law.

The idea was first put forward in May 2026 by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, when he was speaking about a status for Ukraine. In his view, such a format would allow Kyiv to take part in meetings of EU institutions without voting rights. In September 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada an “associate member”. Canada has recently been drawing closer to the European Union amid cooling relations with the United States after Donald Trump returned to the presidency.

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