欧盟委员会周四表示，欧盟成员国在寻求与加拿大建立更紧密关系方面目标一致，尽管据报道各方对在联合峰会声明中使用“准成员资格”一词存在分歧。
The European Commission said Thursday that EU member states share the objective of pursuing closer relations with Canada, despite reported disagreements over the proposed use of the term "associate membership" in a joint summit statement.
在布鲁塞尔举行的午间新闻发布会上，发言人保拉·皮尼奥表示，欧盟仍致力于加强同加拿大的联系，并补充说，将继续与欧洲议会、各成员国及加方进行讨论。
Speaking at the midday briefing in Brussels, spokesperson Paula Pinho said the EU remained committed to strengthening ties with Canada, adding that discussions would continue with the European Parliament, member states, and Canadian counterparts.
“作为欧盟的准成员，这恰恰是加拿大在不成为正式成员的情况下与欧盟日益紧密的联系。”皮尼奥说。
"As associate member of the EU, this is precisely an ever closer association of Canada to the European Union, short of full membership itself," Pinho said.
她强调，在推进与加拿大建立更紧密联系的方式、目标和雄心方面，欧盟委员会与成员国“完全一致”。
She stressed that the commission was "fully on board" with member states regarding the approach, objective, and ambition of pursuing closer association with Canada.
皮尼奥承认，如果各成员国能就最初的措辞达成一致，那将会更好，但她表示，现在已有了推进工作的坚实共同基础。
Pinho acknowledged that it would have been preferable for member states to have reached an agreement on the initial wording but said there was now a strong common basis for moving forward.
她发表此番言论之前，据报欧盟成员国在欧盟-加拿大峰会前的一份联合声明中是否使用“准成员资格”一词问题上仍存在分歧。
Her remarks came after EU member states reportedly remained divided over whether to include the term "associate membership" in a joint statement ahead of the EU-Canada summit.
美国《政客》新闻网周二报道，至少四个国家反对该措辞，德国带头努力将该词从拟议文本中删除。
Politico reported Tuesday that at least four countries opposed the wording, with Germany leading efforts to remove the term from the proposed text.
据该媒体援引的欧盟外交官称，欧盟大使在周一的会谈中未能达成一致，此后的沉默程序也因德国和至少另外三个成员国提出反对而受阻。
EU ambassadors failed to reach an agreement during talks Monday, while a subsequent silence procedure was also blocked after Germany and at least three other member states raised objections, according to EU diplomats cited by the outlet.
欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩上月在斯特拉斯堡发表盟情咨文时首次提出加拿大可成为欧盟准成员的想法，暗示建立一种尚未达到正式欧盟成员资格的更紧密关系。
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen first floated the idea of associate membership for Canada during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg last month, suggesting a closer relationship short of full EU membership.
这一提议暴露出成员国之间的分歧。外交官此前告诉《政客》新闻网，冯德莱恩在宣布这一倡议前并未征求各国首都的意见。
The proposal has exposed differences among member states, with diplomats previously telling Politico that von der Leyen had not consulted national capitals before announcing the initiative.
为期两天的蒙特利尔峰会将于周四和周五举行，预计将聚焦于加强欧盟与加拿大的关系，并扩大在贸易、能源、教育和北极领域的合作。
The summit in Montreal, taking place on Thursday and Friday, is expected to focus on strengthening EU-Canada relations and expanding cooperation in trade, energy, education, and the Arctic.