[Interview] ‘I don’t care’ about the associate membership label row: Lead MEP Javier Moreno Sánchez on upcoming EU-Canada summit

“Everybody’s focusing on the legal basis of Ursula von der Leyen’s associate membership [with Canada] announcement, but frankly I don’t care,” says MEP Javier Moreno Sánchez. The Spanish Socialists & Democrats lawmaker chairs the European Parliament’s Canada delegation. He hopes leaders can make the EU and Canada “as close as possible” at the Montréal summit beginning on Thursday (29 October). Hosting the talks is Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, who has repeatedly spoken of ‘middle powers’ such as Canada and the EU deepening cooperation. In September, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement of an ‘associate membership’ possibility for Canada caught many by surprise. And there has been no consensus among member states on whether such wording should be used in written agreements with the North American ally. EUobserver sat down with the MEP Moreno Sánchez in his Brussels office ahead of the major EU-Canada talks. EU member states struggled to agree on inclusion of the term ‘associate member’ before the Montréal summit. Was it a mistake for EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen to announce this special category if she could not deliver it? MEP Javier Moreno Sánchez: No, to have made this announcement is positive. I prefer for Canada to be an associate member, but I don’t care about the legal basis; it can be de facto associate membership. It’s true that the concept is not in the treaties, but the euro was not and neither was Schengen. When we have the political will, we don’t need the treaties. I would like Canada’s relationship to be as strong and as close as possible with the European Union. It means that they will be like Switzerland or Iceland. We won’t have Canadian members in the European Parliament, or commissioners from Canada, but they will be in all the programmes. Now they will participate in Erasmus+, they are participating in SAFE [Security Action for Europe]. And There is big cooperation on artificial intelligence. But we want a horizontal and holistic approach to collaboration, not sector by sector. Now, everybody's focusing on the legal basis of Ursula von der Leyen’s associate membership announcement, but frankly I don't care. As I said in the plenary last week, Canada and the EU share traditions, culture, language, values and principles. So in my view, they are already associated. What is ‘associate membership’? This post by my prime minister Pedro Sánchez is what associate membership means. It was very funny because it was 2pm after the State of the Union speech, and I had an interview with people in Ottawa where it was 8am in the morning. I said associate membership is a very positive thing we have to do. And the journalist interviewing me said they’re just seeing this post from PM Sánchez. What do you think Mark Carney and Ursula von der Leyen should prioritise in the Montréal summit ? The digital trade agreement. I hope they will agree on that to protect all the consumers and our enterprise. And on critical raw materials, we need an agreement because Canada has everything. In order to not to depend on China, we have to strengthen that relationship. And personally, I’d like to see the EU extend conventions and programs like Erasmus+ to Canada in small steps, little by little. Should there be free movement between Canada and the EU? We have to go in this direction. I don't know exactly at which speed. So little by little, there will be free movement. But if you ask the Council, maybe certain countries will say, “No free movement.” And how important is it that Canada pays into the European community, particularly when it comes to Ukraine? I went to Canada only a few months into Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to meet with people, NGOs, the enterprise and development communities. In every meeting, I was told that Canada wanted to rebuild Ukraine together with Europe once the war was finished. I was a little bit astonished. One of the reasons is that there are 1.5 million Ukrainian people in Canada. And, Canada is putting money into Erasmus+ by participating in it. And it is willing to put money in all the programs and to work with us. To what extent is US president Donald Trump responsible for pushing together Canada and the EU? Thanks to Trump, we have Mark Carney as Canadian prime minister. It was a very good gift from him because Pierre Poilievre was the favourite two months before the elections. And when Trump announced all these shitty things, very proud Canadians decided to vote for Carney. And it was symbolic in Canada. Everybody said, “elbows up.” They are very proud people. Many Europeans now see the US as a less reliable ally. Do you agree?