The European Union intends to deepen partnership ties with Canada, but they will have a less official status than the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed in September. During his annual speech in the European Parliament, he announced his intention to make the North American country an "associate member" of the European Union, surprising some member states of the Union. Now, however, the EU has abandoned that term, Politico reports. According to the latest version of the communique being prepared for the EU-Canada summit, it was decided not to develop the idea of ​​"associate membership". According to the publication of the document, a number of countries, including Germany, Greece and France, have expressed their opposition to the mention of such a status in the joint statement to be published in Montreal. Now the document talks about "increasingly closer cooperation", but Brussels continues to offer Ottawa to significantly expand the partnership. "The good news is that specific names or terms don't matter," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. "What's important is how it will affect the lives of Canadians." The final text of the communiqué has not yet been approved, but its previous version stated that the parties "will work towards defining the concept of an associate member, which will cooperate even more closely, by the 2027 EU-Canada summit". It will reflect our joint efforts and cooperation aimed at achieving common goals: prosperity, economic security and strategic autonomy.