Squabble over 'membership' label emerges as irritant at EU-Canada summit

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : "We are discussing the idea of Canada becoming the first associate member of the European Union," she said.
58% : Now it has presented itself like an uninvited guest at a two-day event aimed at projecting EU-Canada unity at a time of global tensions.
57% : Addressing another Montreal event Thursday, Antonio Costa, head of the European Council representing EU member states, backed von der Leyen's vision.
56% : After weeks of wrangling, the group successfully pushed to drop the wording from a joint EU-Canada summit statement.
56% : While the concept still needs to be fully developed it entails aligning policies, such as on climate and artificial intelligence, Canada joining some EU programs, and creating a stable governance framework.
54% : " Explaining the reluctance to abandon the term, an EU official said it has been developed in partnership with Canada over the past year, an idea separate from that of an "Alliance for the Future" -- a term that will be featured in the joint statement.
53% : Von der Leyen has put forward a "bold idea of making Canada an associated member of the European Union.
52% : The issue first emerged last month, as commission chief Ursula von der Leyen suggested Canada could become the EU's first "associate member," in a Strasbourg speech before Carney.
51% : Brussels also has a different type of relation with Norway, Switzerland and other European countries that are not EU members but have joined its single market.
51% : "We want to go beyond a simple association, without going as far as full membership of the European Union.
49% : Is it an "alliance" or an "associated membership?" Disagreement over what a stronger relationship between the European Union and Canada should be called has emerged as an irritant at a Montreal summit, with leaders dogged by questions about wording rather than substance.
48% : "In this summit, the European Union and Canada are establishing an 'Alliance for the Future'," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday. - Not 'Eurovision' - Not so fast.
47% : That ruffled a few feathers in Brussels, as the title doesn't exist in EU treaties.
46% : Opposition was led by Germany, which had incidentally first proposed the term "associate member," but for Ukraine under a plan to bring the war-torn country closer before it fully joins the EU.
40% : Some countries argued it might create confusion with the less far-reaching association agreements the 27-nation bloc has struck with other non-EU countries.

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