Canada-Europe defence ties can link ‘club of countries,’ says German envoy – National

If Canada decides to buy submarines from Germany, it would mean the tightening of links with a “country club” in Europe, as it seeks to meet NATO defense expenses Objectives and face an uncertain world, says the German ambassador.

Matthias Lüttenberg, German ambassador to Canada, sat with The western blockMercedes Stephenson in an interview broadcast on Sunday and highlighted the value of working more closely together.

“It is up to the Canadian government to decide what direction they want to go“” said Lüttenberg.

“The advanced submarine that we offer jointly with Norway, which is built in Germany, is a very good solution for Canadian security, especially when you look at the Arctic.”

European countries invest billions in their soldiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney is committed that Canada will join the Rearm Europe initiative in the recent Throne speech.

Germany and Norway have proposed a partnership with Canada to obtain new submarines – a project that would give Ottawa earlier to ships and help it achieve its NATO spending objectives, which aim to bring all members of the military alliance spending two percent of their GDP in defense.

Canada has long been below this objective, but undergoes renewed pressure not only to meet, but to overcome this target, like US President Donald Trump pushes more military spending.

Lüttenberg said the purchase in the underwater project would symbolize a wider partnership.

“It is not only a question of the submarine, it is also a question of entering this country club: Norway, Germany, potentially others in Europe are interested in being part of this maritime partnership because it brings much more advantages than a simple submarine; Because we can innovate jointly, we can develop, we can talk about maintenance, but really another project that is underway with Canada, “he said.

“I think it’s an interesting offer among NATO allies.”

Lüttenberg was questioned about specific deadlines when Germany can achieve its renewed objectives of defense expenditure. He said they would already go beyond NATO’s bar with two percent and target more than three% in the coming years, and have alluded to the potential of future acts of aggression by Russia.

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“The Minister of Defense (Germany) said that he wanted to see the German army being ready for war by 2029. Not because we want to attack anyone, God preserves us, but because we think we should be ready to counter all kinds of Russian aggression against NATO territory at that time,” he said.

With a continuous escalation in the war in Ukraine since the invasion of Russia in 2022, Trump’s efforts to negotiate a The peace agreement seemed to lack progress Since its inauguration.

The force of economies, whether in Canada or in the European Union, will be important if the nations hope to achieve budgetary objectives, including for defense expenses. The trade war triggered by Trump pricing policies was cited as One of the greatest risks for global economies including Canada.

Carney seeks to stimulate Canada’s economy in the middle of the trade war by working towards “a Canadian economy” and has now file an invoice To eliminate interprorcal trade barriers regulated by the federal government.

Canada has a Objective to reach the NATO target Out of two percent of GDP from 2027, with this year following 1.37% – against 1.31% during the year 2024.

Lüttenberg said Germany planned to increase its defense expenses by 0.2% each year to 3.5% of its total annual gross domestic product by 2032.

“The two percent for us for a long time seemed to be distant, and now we are at 2.12%. But we are very frankly committed to the target of 3.5 more than 1.5 in terms of additional infrastructure battalions and expenses,” he said.

“We support this objective, which is also shared by Mark Rutte, like the secretary general of NATO.”

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