Speaking with The Telegraph, multiple diplomats and other representatives have described Canadian PM Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s joint proposal of wedding Canada to the EU as poorly defined and even “empty”.
“Member states know they are in the lead here. They know substance-wise it can be a trade deal-plus, as a maximum option,” one diplomat told The Telegraph.
“Associate member is an empty phrase, and member states will put substance into it, but it won’t be groundbreaking.”
Another EU diplomat pointed out what everyone else was thinking, which is that “nobody really knows what it means”, referring to the very term “associate member”. They continued, saying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was “overpromising and wouldn’t be able to deliver”.
Another added that most member states weren’t even consulted as to whether they wanted a country outside of Europe to join the historically region-specific union.
On the other side of this new alliance, it also isn’t clear how Carney intends to proceed with integration into the EU, as no one in Canada seemed to have any inclination that the proposed plan was even in the works until American media reported on his backroom meetings earlier this week.
PM Carney has also made no mention of a referendum or of consulting Canadians on whether they would personally like to join the EU, but did tell the European Parliament that an “overwhelming majority” of Canadians are for stronger ties with Europe based on “polls”.
Carney only made mention of debates and a subsequent vote in Parliament rather than asking the people directly, suggesting the merger could occur without the consent of the people it would affect.
“Yes, we will have a series of debates, I’m sure, in Parliament, relevant committees, and ultimately there will be a vote in the Canadian Parliament for the final structure of the alliance that we’re working on,” Carney said in Strasbourg, France.