Cremer Says EU-Canada Partnership Needs Lasting Framework
European Parliament rapporteur Tobias Cremer says the EU’s proposed associate membership for Canada needs a lasting institutional framework, not just warmer…
European Parliament rapporteur Tobias Cremer says the eu-canada love story needs more than warm words. He wants the EU’s proposed associate membership for Canada to include a lasting institutional framework, as Brussels and Ottawa prepare for a summit in Montreal.
The proposal could shape how the two sides coordinate beyond trade. Agreements are expected in several areas, including critical raw materials and digital cooperation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member” in September, but gave little indication of what the unprecedented status would mean in practice. Cremer, the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Canada, told Euronews that the offer must become a meaningful partnership.
“For the last couple of months, we've been great, Canada and Europe, at writing each other love letters and saying how much we really want to work together,” Cremer said. “But I think now is really the time to start to get serious and turn that love story into concrete commitments.”
The summit in Montreal is due to take place at the end of next week. The expected agreements offer a near-term test of whether the proposed relationship can move beyond broad declarations, though the source does not specify what the associate status would formally entail.
Cremer seeks a framework for EU-Canada ties
Cremer said the arrangement should amount to more than a trade deal with extra provisions. “There must be a new quality to the relation,” he said.
He proposed a pragmatic approach built around sectoral agreements on trade, defence, digital cooperation, the Arctic and students. But he argued those initiatives should sit within a more durable system of coordination.
“We should go a step further and start embedding all of these great initiatives into something more enduring, into a common institutional framework of coordination and cooperation,” Cremer said.
His suggestions include allowing Canada to take part “as an observer” in the Council of the EU, where national ministers meet, and creating a formal parliamentary partnership assembly.
Cremer pointed to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly as a possible model. That body brings together 35 members from each side twice a year, with sessions able to focus on specific policy areas.
The proposal comes amid closer ties between Brussels and Ottawa during geopolitical upheaval. Canada is embroiled in a trade war with its traditional US ally, while the EU is struggling to keep Washington on its side over Ukraine, according to the source.
Cremer also argued that cooperation should extend to countries beyond Canada and the UK, including Australia and South Korea. He framed the effort as a way to bring together governments that support collective security, shared interests and mutual respect.
On the UK, Cremer said the ambition should be full EU membership, not associate status, if the country wanted to return. The source also reports that UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently floated rejoining the EU, while polls show a majority of Britons want to return to the bloc.
Cremer said Canada should receive “the closest possible partnership that the EU can offer to a non-European country.”
Source: euronews.com
