Europe · Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Germany, France, Italy and Greece push back on von der Leyen's 'associate member' plan for Canada

Four EU governments have objected to a draft joint declaration with Canada using the term 'associate member', a status that does not exist in the EU treaties and that von der Leyen proposed in September without consulting capitals. The dispute comes days before an EU-Canada summit in Montreal on October 29 and 30.