European Union backtracks on Canada becoming ‘associate member’

The European Union has dropped the idea that Canada should become an “associate member” of the bloc, according to the German news agency dpa and the Reuters news agency. In a joint draft Canada-EU statement, the terms “associate member” and “associated membership” have been removed, the agencies reported on Thursday, adding that officials planned to make the statement public on Friday. This comes as the EU-Canada summit in Montreal, hosted by Canadian Prime Minister ⁠Mark Carney, is expected to start on Thursday.