Academics testified at committee on heels of Canada-EU summit Experts in European Union policy say Canada should try solidifying gains with the EU in legal frameworks, particularly as talk of becoming an EU "associate member" continues to cause confusion. Academics studying EU relations testified on Monday to the House foreign affairs committee, after a summit in Montreal last week brought together top Canadian and EU officials. The officials praised the plan as a historic partnership. The experts were less enthusiastic.

"A lot of these agreements are essentially expressions of intent," University of Toronto professor Mark Manger testified. "I'm still waiting for a concrete announcement." Manger argued Mexico already has many of the arrangements with the EU that Canada is now gaining or seeking.

Canada seeking to become the EU's 1st associate member, Carney says The testimony comes after weeks of confusion over nomenclature, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pitching Canada become an associate member.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had largely avoided that phrasing since von der Leyen introduced the concept in September, instead speaking of an "alliance for the future." But on Thursday Carney said the goal was associate EU membership — a term that has no official definition.

Achim Hurrelmann, co-director of the Centre for European Studies at Carleton University, said the phrasing was "a bit of a distraction from the policy work leading up to the summit — mainly because the EU, frankly, hadn't really done its homework in defining what this status would mean, and how it could be integrated into EU law." Still, Hurrelmann said Carney and von der Leyen are "keen to maintain" the buzz around such phrasing.

"I don't think they are really fully attached to the concept of associate membership, but stick to it now because it brings this symbolic attention. Everyone's talking about this," he testified.

Hurrelmann said both sides will need to settle on an arrangement that is somewhere between a mere political declaration and some formal status — which would require complicated amendments to EU treaties and votes in the Canadian Parliament. "The proposals that we have heard do not require associate membership at all to be realized," he said.

Hurrelmann suggested thinking of associate membership as the "symbolic affirmation" of moving from a common-law relationship to marriage.

Anand Sundar, a transatlantic defence adviser at the European Council on Foreign Relations, testified that "associate membership" seems to be something Brussels is pushing despite strong objection from countries such as Germany.

"It's a very political sort of game that we're seeing," he said. "This might be something in interest of the [European] Commission, but not of certain member states." Hurrelmann said officials might need to move fast, as MPs raised concerns about rising far-right movements across Europe that are skeptical of partnering with other countries.

"It's going to be important to ask how quickly can this agreement be put fully in legal force on the European side," Hurrelmann said.

He also suggested Ottawa consider restructuring Canada's EU trade deal to increase economic gains, particularly by changing its status from the current "mixed agreement" that requires individual ratification by each member state.

Of the bloc's 27 members, nine still haven't put the decade-old Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into full force.

Canadians chafe at food regulations that bar many Canadian imports. Europeans complain about Canada's dairy quota and protected-origin phrasing, Hurrelmann noted, such as whether cheeses called feta can originate from anywhere outside a specific region of Greece.

Hurrelmann noted the deal was praised at the time it was signed for innovative clauses on aligning regulations, assessing conformity with rules and recognizing professional qualifications — and that all these have had limited success, resulting in less trade than what was envisioned.

"The joint statement from the summit has some very vague language on that. But I would really encourage both sides to look at the CETA governance structure," he said.

Manger suggested Canada and the EU enhance the existing trade deal with "economic and legal parameters" that make it more appealing to boost exports and investments.

"In international agreements, it's desirable to have something that is locking in a certain trade relationship, that makes it clear for Canadian firms … that this is a long-term relationship," he said.

He suggested Ottawa could allow European mobile networks to set up shop in Canada in exchange for European countries dropping restrictions on importing Canadian food.

Hurrelmann suggested Ottawa focus on projects in areas where the EU has clear jurisdiction such as in research and academic exchanges, while working directly with countries on key issues where they have power, such as defence and energy.

He also said closer ties to Europe will only work if there is cross-party collaboration.

That comes as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argues the government has not been clear on its deals with Europe, that the Montreal summit was a waste of time meant to distract from domestic issues and that Canada risks losing sovereignty to Europe and control of its borders.