00:00The European Union has dropped the term associate member from a draft summit declaration on closer ties with Canada
00:06after opposition from several member states ahead of talks in Montreal.
00:11The revised draft, cited by news agencies, instead proposes an ever-closer association between Canada and the EU,
00:19short of full membership, with details to be worked out by next year's summit.
00:24According to diplomats quoted by news agencies, member states such as Germany, Greece and France
00:30all objected to mentioning associate membership in the statement
00:33and vowed to make efforts to seek a diplomatic path to rescinding the offer.
00:38Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has ruled out full EU membership but is seeking closer ties with Europe
00:44as Canada looks to diversify its trade and security partnerships amid tensions with the United States.
00:50European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen first proposed the idea in her State of the Union address in September,
00:56inviting Canada to become the bloc's first associate member.
00:59The declaration was seen as a landmark in EU history, offering a non-EU country such close ties to the
01:05bloc.
01:06Associate membership has been mooted before but rejected previously for countries such as Ukraine.
