Israeli attacks leave at least 20 dead in Gaza
By Rodrigo Santos Andrade
What might Canada’s EU ‘associate membership’ look like, and is it even a possibility?
visibility comment0 event September 18, 2026 timer 11:23
Making Canada the EU’s first ‘associate member’ may be a solution in search of a problem.
In a speech to the European Parliament, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney declared that “Europe and Canada are stronger together”. He also backed an offer made by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, one day earlier for Canada to become the first “associate member” of the bloc.
“Canada welcomes this ambition,” he said. “An alliance for the future is a unique, positive approach that we will define together.” But what might associate membership look like, how significant is von der Leyen’s offer in the history of the EU’s relations with external states, and how likely is it to come into being?
Canada already has a preferential trade deal with the EU in the form of the 2016 Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta). This type of free-trade agreement is typical of the sort of legal instrument used by the EU to manage relations with its main international partners.
But one way in which the EU could upgrade Ottawa’s relations with Brussels would be to look to the template of the “association agreements” the EU uses to bring neighbouring countries into closer alignment with its policies and programmes.
These association agreements have been a stepping stone to full EU membership for countries like Greece and Portugal. Current candidates for EU accession, including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, also all have association agreements with the EU that facilitate the process by which they meet the rules and standards required for EU membership.
Other countries like Norway and Iceland have rejected full EU membership. But their association agreement with the EU – the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement – nonetheless grants them access to the European single market in return for alignment with EU regulations.
Ottawa is not about to engage in a process of regulatory alignment with the EU as if it were preparing for membership. EU law is clear that only “European” states can join the bloc. Currently, Canada’s trade with the US also vastly outstrips its trade with the EU.
Weakening its position relative to its primary market would have much the same effect for Canada as Brexit had for the UK, albeit by aligning with the EU rather than seeking autonomy from it. Nonetheless, Brexit may be instructive here.
Driven by the Boris Johnson administration’s desire for a trade deal with the EU modelled on Ceta, the 2021 EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is substantively a preferential trade deal cloaked in the legal form of an association agreement.
For the EU, this allows its future relationship with the UK to evolve over time. Enclosing Ceta within the legal wrapper of an association agreement could likewise allow Canada and the EU to strengthen their areas of non-trade cooperation without EU membership and regulatory alignment.
First associate member
The really surprising aspect of von der Leyen’s offer is the idea that Canada would be the EU’s “first” associate member, implying a new legal category. This would be unusual for a highly legalistic bureaucracy that has long preferred the routine application of familiar legal formats.
That said, the proposal is not entirely new. The idea of associate membership gained some traction in the early 2000s around a proposed replacement of the EU’s founding treaties with a single treaty, creating a “Constitution for Europe”.
As this constitution was being drafted, a proposal emerged to create an associate membership status for states that wanted to keep a close relationship with the EU but without accepting the obligations of full EU membership. The proposal did not get off the ground, and the constitution failed when put to referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005.
Carving out a new legal status of associate membership would entail treaty change, and that comes with significant hurdles. Unanimity among existing EU member states is needed for an amendment to pass.
The range of potential domestic veto players is also extensive. As Canada has discovered, ratification of Ceta is not yet complete in ten EU countries, even a decade on from its signature.
Aside from the legal hurdles, there may also be political pushback against giving Canada associated EU status. Countries currently in accession talks may fear that their drive towards full membership will instead be parked in associate status.
With Russia continuing to oppose Ukraine’s EU membership, for example, granting Ukraine associate membership could be a neat diplomatic solution. But it is one that could disappoint those for whom EU membership is the real prize.
For states like Norway, Iceland and the UK that do not have EU membership in their sights, an associate status could facilitate closer European cooperation without stirring up popular resistance to full European integration.
But for Iceland and Norway, such an arrangement would disturb their existing EEA framework with the EU. The UK’s TCA, on the other hand, allows future cooperation with the EU to be absorbed within its framework. Joining Canada in an outer circle of associate states would need to have demonstrable benefits.
Other international forums – the G7, Nato and the recently formed European Political Community – create opportunities for Canada and the EU to strengthen their alliance but outside of the framework of EU institutions and treaties.
Creating a category of associate membership might seem like a solution in search of a problem.
Kenneth Armstrong has received funding from the Leverhulme Trust, British Academy and ESRC. He is also director and trustee of the Scottish Book Trust.
Tags: Academic Journalism, The Conversation, The Conversation Academic News
No Comments
