Brussels does not plan to offer associate status to the United Kingdom — Politico Europe
In Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to help make it the European Union's first associate member. At the same time, according to a senior EU official cited by Politico Europe, a similar format is not envisaged for the United Kingdom after Brexit.
During her annual address to the European Parliament on September 16, von der Leyen said that Canada and the EU share values and a vision of the world. She addressed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with a proposal to jointly create a new format of cooperation.
Brussels' position
A senior EU official explained to the outlet that the proposal to Canada concerns a country that, due to its geographical location, cannot join the Union. According to him, accession to the EU is the path to closer integration for the United Kingdom, Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
At the same time, one diplomat from an EU member state called the question of the possibility of a similar arrangement for the United Kingdom natural. However, according to Politico Europe's source, the British government is not currently considering such a possibility.
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London-EU negotiations
The government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham is focused on completing the reset of relations with the EU, launched by his predecessor Keir Starmer. The programme provides for an agreement to simplify trade in agri-food products, a youth mobility scheme and an arrangement on coordinating emissions trading systems.
These agreements are planned to be approved at an EU-United Kingdom summit by the end of the year, although the date of the meeting has not yet been set. The negotiations are complicated by differences over European protectionism in the steel industry and public procurement, as well as disputes over the amount of tuition fees for EU students in the United Kingdom.
Carney did not ask for membership in any format. At an investment summit in Toronto, he stated his intention to build a unique security and economic alliance with Europe. At the same time, ten EU countries, including France, Poland and Italy, have still not ratified the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed nearly ten years ago.
