“A category that doesn’t exist yet”: Experts discuss proposed EU associate status for Canada

According to Dal News, the discussion took place at Dalhousie on Sept. 22 in a workshop hosted by the Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence (JMEUCE).[1]Euronews reports that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced[2] that Canada had been invited to become the EU's first "associate member." Euronews says the status is "an entirely new one, with details yet to be made clear."[2]Dal News says Zaiotti believes the commission appears to be proposing a new category short of full membership, though not lacking its own special benefits.[1] Zaiotti said this could give Canada "access to, among other things, a single market and deepened security cooperation."[1]Zaiotti also raised concerns about a loss of sovereignty over final decision making on a series of policy areas[1], Dal News reports. He warned that "the rules that constitute the single market will be made in Brussels."[1]Noah Fry, a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie, told Dal News that "Since CETA's provisional implementation, Canadian exports to the EU haven't changed much."[1] He added that "Not every attempt at trade diversification is helpful."[1] President Donald Trump called the proposal "laughable"[3]. CFR also reports that several EU governments were said to be furious that they had not been consulted beforehand[3].Al Jazeera reports that the two sides are expected to keep working out the details, including at a Canada-EU summit in Montreal next month.[4]