Dispute over Canada's status deepens rift between Merz and von der Leyen
Germany and the European Commission are at odds over von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada an "associate member" of the EU. Four diplomats say the row reflects a wider disagreement over how the bloc should be governed.
A disagreement over what to call the European Union's future relationship with Canada is widening the gap between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, four diplomats told POLITICO. Berlin and Brussels cannot agree on the wording, and tensions rose after the Commission president used the phrase "associate member" at a summit in Montreal. Only hours earlier, a German-led push had removed it from a joint statement approved by the capitals of the EU's 27 member states.
The Ukraine angle
Merz had earlier floated "associate member" as a status for Ukraine while it works toward full EU membership. The idea was widely rejected, including by Kyiv itself. Officials in Berlin now see von der Leyen's use of the term for Canada as a rebuke of the chancellor's initiative.
Two EU diplomats said her definition, as applied to Canada, rules out offering the status to Ukraine. It would go to a country that could never be fully admitted to the EU, which von der Leyen acknowledged in her Montreal speech. One diplomat said Germany had different plans for associate membership and still does.
No one is backing down
Berlin repeated its opposition at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, two diplomats said. A person familiar with von der Leyen's thinking said she does not intend to drop the label. Paula Pinho, the Commission's chief spokesperson, said the focus is on building on the foundations laid at the summit. A German diplomat said there is no difference in substance.
A wider divide
The dispute echoes other disagreements. Berlin has said it will not approve the EU's next long-term budget, proposed by the Commission at around €2 trillion, unless "hundreds of billions" are cut. Von der Leyen's proposal for a European Security Council has gained little traction in Germany, whose government has embraced a separate format with France and the U.K. for sensitive Ukraine-related matters.
Jan Techau, head of Germany at the Eurasia Group, said von der Leyen takes a strongly integrationist approach while Merz treats nation states as the primary driver of EU policy. He called the issue in many ways "unresolvable." A representative for Merz did not respond to POLITICO's request for comment.
