A Canadian fighting vehicle takes part in the exercise Resolute Warrior of the NATO Multinational Brigade in the Adazi Military Base in Adazi, Latvia, in 2024.GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP/Getty Images
Canada has concluded negotiations to join the European Union’s military purchasing fund as the 27-member economic bloc ramps up defence spending, Ottawa says.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, however, is refusing to reveal the entrance fee it will have to pay for its membership in the Secure Action for Europe (SAFE) program
As part of SAFE, Canada will be able to make joint weapons purchases with other EU countries to achieve savings through large-scale buying, and Canadian companies will be eligible to bid for contracts financed by the €150-billion fund.
Defence Minister David McGuinty said that while Canada has secured access to SAFE, there are still “fine print” negotiations to complete.
“We’ve been allowed to step inside a tent, the European Union tent,” he told reporters Monday. “We have negotiated our way into the tent to build this relationship and participate in very large opportunities for procurement. The details in terms of costs, percentages are being ironed out.”
Canada is the first non-EU country to gain access.
Defence Minister David McGuinty says Canada has secured access to SAFE, but there are still ‘fine print’ negotiations to complete.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Britain has also been negotiating to join the fund but talks stalled last month over the entrance fee, which media reports in the United Kingdom and Europe have pegged at between £2-billion to £6-billion.
The Security and Defence Partnership, signed by Mr. Carney ahead of a NATO summit in June, was pitched as an effort to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S military contractors and generate new business for Canada’s defence industry. It points the way for Canada to join a European Union push to re-arm itself in the face of an expansionist Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
Canada and the 23 EU member countries that belong to the NATO military alliance have all committed to raising defence spending to a new target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2035. For Canada, this marks the largest increase in military spending in more than 70 years.
The EU defence pact marked a turning point in Canada’s approach to national security and economic growth, given Canada has for many decades relied heavily on the United States for defence needs and roughly 75 per cent of its military equipment purchases.
The Canadian government says joining SAFE will unlock “billions of dollars in potential defence opportunities for Canadian businesses.”
SAFE provides up to $244 billion in loans to EU Member States to support large-scale defence projects, including acquiring critical capabilities such as ammunition, missiles, drones, artillery systems, and infantry weapons. Canada as a non-EU state is not eligible for this financing.