Carney commits Canada to becoming the EU's first 'associate member' despite Trump's threat of 'very serious tariffs'

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared at the Montreal summit that negotiations to define Canada's "associate member" status would conclude by June 2027, setting a concrete timetable for a relationship that has no legal precedent in EU treaties. Canada also committed to a €90bn support loan for Ukraine and agreed a digital trade deal to expand an already-existing trade agreement with the bloc. Carney said he is prepared to wait for a new US president rather than accept a bad trade deal, saying he would not strike an agreement "just for the sake of it."

Trump previously threatened to impose 'very serious tariffs' on Europe if he viewed the Canada-EU tie-up as a 'hostile act.'

Germany and several other EU member states oppose the 'associate member' designation, which is so divisive it was stripped from the final summit communiqué.

Carney said the Alliance for the Future would be open to other like-minded nations, calling Canada 'the most European of non-European countries.'