Carney targets June for EU associate membership deal
The joint declaration from the Montreal summit omitted the title, leaving the status to be defined by 2027.
By Anthony Shevchenko ·
71.7 percent. That is the share of Canadian merchandise exports that went to the United States in 2025, a figure that underscores the economic pressure behind Prime Minister Mark Carney's push for a new alliance with Europe.
Carney said on Friday that he expects to conclude negotiations with the European Union in June. The goal is to make Canada the bloc's first associate member, a status that would fall short of full membership but create a unique partnership.
The designation was missing from the joint declaration issued at the end of a two-day summit in Montreal. Instead, the leaders agreed to define an ever-closer association by their next summit in 2027. Carney said his cabinet ministers and European commissioners would meet in March to advance the talks before he attends European Council meetings in June.
The new Alliance for the Future was launched by Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President António Costa. The alliance aims to boost economic independence through digital trade, investment in critical minerals, and artificial intelligence cooperation.
Negotiators concluded a digital trade agreement to ease cross-Atlantic business operations and data movement. They also finalized an agreement with the European Investment Bank to encourage European investment in Canadian critical minerals, which are essential for electric vehicles and defense industries.
Carney highlighted a European supercomputing initiative that would involve Canada. He noted that Europe's JUPITER supercomputer could complete in one day calculations that would take Canada's most powerful research computer six months. The leaders also agreed to study the feasibility of exporting Canadian liquefied natural gas to Europe and building new undersea cables connecting Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Von der Leyen has pushed for the associate member status despite resistance from some European governments. She stated that shared values matter more than geography when determining partnerships. Costa described Canada as by far the most European of non-European countries and said the alliance would be the closest relationship the EU has ever established with a country outside the bloc.
The United States has expressed concern over the arrangement. President Donald Trump suggested the deal could be a hostile act and threatened tariffs on Europe if he considered it unfriendly. Carney said the alliance is about sovereignty and the ability to withstand economic shocks.
Canada and the EU will also begin negotiations to expand Canadian participation in the Erasmus+ student exchange program. They will explore linking instant-payment systems to make cross-border transfers faster and cheaper, and they pledged closer cooperation on defense, cybersecurity, and Arctic security.
