The European Union invented a new status for Canada - which Israel already built years earlier | Sharon Pardo
The European Union has declared a new 'associate member' status for Canada, which does not exist in the EU treaties. The article argues that Israel has been operating under a similar model of deep integration without full membership for decades, starting with its request for association in 1958 and continuing through current trade, research, and aviation agreements. The piece compares the two cases and analyzes the limits of the model.
The European Union, through European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has offered Canada a new status of 'associate member' – a definition not found in EU treaties and with no defined rights or obligations. The article argues that Israel preceded Canada in this model: as early as April 1958, just months after the Treaty of Rome, Israel was the third country to seek diplomatic representation in Brussels. The 1995 Association Agreement created an institutional framework, and since then cooperation has expanded to research ('Horizon Europe'), aviation (Open Skies agreement), regulation, and education. In 2025, the EU accounted for 31.7% of Israel's goods trade, amounting to €43.3 billion. The article notes that Switzerland is the most developed example of integration outside the EU, but Israel shows that even a non-European country can integrate. However, Israeli integration is primarily economic-scientific and does not provide a model for the security dimension that Canada seeks. The article emphasizes that the current crisis in Israel-EU relations demonstrates that even deep ties do not eliminate political disagreements.