The European Union and Canada announced a new alliance of “ever-closer association” designed to bring together like-minded countries to address common challenges.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said on Friday he and his European counterparts would define the scale and scope of a “new form” of European Union membership over the coming months, and that Canada would become its first “associate member.”

They will define by a 2027 summit what the association would entail exactly, Carney said.

In a post on X, Carney said that what he called an “Alliance for the Future” would not only be open to Canada and the EU, but to “other countries that share our views to address common challenges and strengthen our collective power.”

Donald ‌Trump last ‌month threatened trade sanctions in ⁠response to von der Leyen’s proposal to create ⁠a new status for the EU-Canada relationship.

The US president has adopted a more transactional approach to foreign ​policy and has repeatedly attacked multilateral institutions.

Carney called Canada “the most European of non-European countries” early in Trump’s trade war. This week, it was reported that discussions regarding trade between the US and Canada had seen only modest advancement.

On Thursday, European Commission president Ursula ⁠von der Leyen said the EU ​and ⁠Canada continue to ‌explore the North American nation becoming the union’s first “associate member,” a term so divisive among member ‌countries that it does ‌not appear in the final statement.

Carney said the alliance between EU and Canada, announced at a summit in Montreal on Friday, would focus on resilience in areas including AI, energy and critical minerals.

“We are working towards the deepest possible partnership, short of accession,” he said, adding that this would result in “Canada ‌becoming the European Union’s first Associate Member.”

The associate member term, which Germany and several other EU countries oppose, has no legal meaning.

In a joint statement released to mark the end ⁠of the summit, Canadian and EU leaders cited an “unwavering commitment to effective multilateralism, democracy and to the rules-based international order.”

The statement said Canada and the 27-nation EU would work to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and deepen security ties elsewhere, including in the Arctic.

It added talks had been ‌concluded on a ​digital trade agreement that would ‌complement the existing trade agreement between ​Canada and the EU.

Carney also said he had accepted the European Council president’s invitation to attend meetings in Europe next June, where he said talks on the deeper relationship would be concluded.

“We are building the industries and infrastructure that underwrite our collective security,” Carney said.

“This is only the beginning.”