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Canada and the European Union have dropped a plan for associate EU membership while pledging closer ties ahead of a Montreal summit. A joint declaration issued before the Thursday meeting set out the revised approach. Deutsche Welle reported that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had wanted to give Canada a special status within the EU, but Germany and other member states raised objections. France 24 reported that Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking to reduce Canada's reliance on the United States, despite warnings from Donald Trump.