European Union drops 'member' from Canada declaration, keeps 'ever closer' wording

Summary

Ursula von der Leyen offered Canada "associate membership" in her State of the Union address in Strasbourg, a status the EU's treaties do not contain. Donald Trump called the idea laughable and warned of very heavy tariffs on Europe if it was done with bad intention. Germany and France pushed back, and the word "member" was cut from the Canada-EU joint declaration, though von der Leyen repeated the term in Montreal.

Mark Carney stepped past the label, saying the name doesn't matter. The declaration instead points to an "ever closer association" with the EU, short of full membership, which the two sides will work to define by the 2027 summit. The video stresses Canada's trade concentration: 71.7% of last year's goods exports went to the United States, while the EU accounts for about 9% of total trade, and Carney wants to double non-US exports within a decade.

Concrete steps include Canada joining Europe's 12-machine supercomputing network, a study of Canadian LNG exports, and Canada's place as the only non-European country in SAFE, the €150 billion defence program. The phrase itself echoes the 1957 Treaty of Rome's "ever closer union," which still appears in Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union.

Key points

• 71.7% of Canada's goods exports went to the United States last year.
• The EU accounts for only about 9% of Canada's total trade.
• Carney aims to double non-US exports within a decade.
• Canada is the only non-European country in SAFE, the €150 billion EU defence program.
• "Ever closer union" comes from the 1957 Treaty of Rome and still appears in Article 1 of the TEU.
• Ottawa is reviewing the purchase of 72 more F-35s and studying Sweden's Gripen.

Questions answered