Recently, in the face of pressure from U.S. President Trump regarding tariffs and sovereignty issues, the EU and Canada have shown a trend of getting closer to each other. European Commission Chairwoman von der Leyen proposed making Canada a "quasi-member" of the EU. Although this term was not ultimately adopted, the proposal unexpectedly caused internal contradictions within the EU.
On November 5th, local time, the European edition of the "Politician" news website quoted four EU diplomats, stating that the definition of the future relationship between the EU and Canada is deepening the differences between Fondelain and German Chancellor Merz.
At the Canada-EU Summit held in Montreal, Canada last week, both Canada and the EU issued a joint statement announcing the establishment of a new national partnership called "Future Alliance", to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade, economy, energy, and critical minerals.
According to reports, this joint statement was originally proposed by Fondelaine, which aimed to define Canada as a “quasi-member state” of the EU. However, this wording met opposition from several EU countries, led by Germany. As a result, the statement removed the term “quasi-member state” and instead used the term “future alliance” to describe the new relationship between Canada and the EU.
European diplomats said that this conflict is related to a proposal put forward by Merts. Merts suggested giving Ukraine the status of a ‘quasi-member’ of the EU in order to help Ukraine gradually join the EU. At that time, this proposal was strongly opposed by various parties, including Ukraine, and was not adopted.
In Berlin's view, Fondlaine's strong efforts to make Canada a 'quasi-member state' are a rejection of Mertz's initiative.
German Chancellor Merz and European Commission President Vondzelein
Despite the fact that diplomacy is most important in essence, not just on the surface, but within the European Union, the dispute over the term "candidate member state" seems to have evolved into a "ideological struggle" between Brussels and Berlin.
Two EU diplomats said that the difference between the concepts of “quasi-member states” proposed by Fondelien and Mertz lies in certain details. According to Fondelien, becoming a “quasi-member state” is not a step toward full membership in the EU, but rather gives a country that will never fully join the EU a special status. This is distinctly different from Mertz’s vision of Ukraine.
A diplomat said, “Fiedler used this term to disrupt German logic. Germany has other plans regarding the status of ‘potential members’, and it remains the case.”
The head of the think tank ‘Eurasia Group’ in Germany, Jan Tescho, stated that both Fiedler and Mertes are members of the German conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union. They share similar views on many issues, including deepening relations with Canada within the EU.
But Tesho pointed out that the two have completely different views on how to define relations with Canada. In the view of Voddenlein, making Canada a “quasi-member state” would be a “major geopolitical victory” for her and the European Commission. Mertz, however, believes that the status of “quasi-member state” is driven by political considerations, and it will disappoint those who wish for greater integration within the EU.
According to the ‘Politicians’ news website, the conflicting wording also reflects the growing differences between Frau Merkel and Angela Merkel regarding the way the EU is governed. Berlin has stated that it will not approve the European Commission’s proposed long-term budget of 2 trillion euros unless billions of euros are cut down. Frau Merkel’s proposal to establish a mechanism for the European Security Council has not received support from Germany.
Te Schau believes that the debate over the term 'potential member states' reflects a major disagreement within the EU: should the EU be more driven by common institutions in Brussels, or by the governments of individual member states? He points out that this debate permeates core EU issues such as budget and security, but 'in many ways, this issue is insoluble.'
