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Canada and Europe will be a little closer on Monday while Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a strategic defense and security partnership with the European Union.
The agreement will open the door to Canadian companies to participate in the $ 1.25 billion program in Rearm Europe, which is considered a less dependent – and less vulnerable – the whims of the United States.
Finally, this will also help the Canadian government to associate themselves with other allied countries to buy military equipment under what is known as a safe program.
Other discussions and agreements will be necessary before these two aspects become reality.
Carney has noted for months that his government is not satisfied to spend up to 70% of its military equipment on American manufacturing equipment.
Other countries not from the EU, including the United Kingdom, have already concluded their own strategic agreements. Australia pointed out last week that it had started negotiations on an agreement with Europe.
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The chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with the former secretary general of NATO, George Robertson, how the plan of Rearm Europe could help Canada
A large part of the emphasis has been put on the aspects of the supply of joint equipment of the imminent agreement. However, the agreement of the United Kingdom, made public on May 19, establishes a series of institutional links for crisis management, maritime security and cybersecurity.
It is far from being as complete as the NATO alliance. But given the growing uncertainty about the reliability of the Trump administration, the partnership is important.
“This could complement NATO. It is not necessarily a substitute,” said Stephen Saiman, who holds the president of Paterson in International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
“It is logical to work with Europeans as much as possible in defense,” he said. “Maybe if we do this kind of thing, NATO can live even if the United States is withdrawing.”
NATO expenses to be discussed
Carney will attend the Northern Atlantic Treaty Treaty at the top of the Netherlands, in the Netherlands, almost immediately after signing the defense and security agreement with the EU
The western military alliance of 32 members should debate the increase in the reference for defense expenditure to a combined five percent of the gross domestic product of a country (3.5% for direct military spending and an additional 1.5% for defense infrastructure).
Christian Leuprecht, professor at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, said that the way the defense partnership and the Rearm Europe program are set up, they could not be considered a replacement for NATO because there is no operational military aspect for individual arrangements.
However, an important aspect of the British agreement is to strengthen cooperation by “exchanges on awareness of the situation and threat assessments in the fields of common interest, including classified information”.
The agreement continues by saying that “the United Kingdom and the EU will explore additional measures to ensure that classified information can be exchanged quickly, safely and effectively” in accordance with British information security laws. This is important because the United Kingdom – like Canada – is part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network which includes the United States.
It is not clear, for the moment, if Canada’s agreement will contain similar provisions.
Leuprecht describes Rearm Europe as a “cartel” with the mission of lowering the prices of military equipment thanks to collective supply.
A large component of the EU program is the safe loan program which allows member countries to borrow funds for military equipment at more favorable rates than direct national loans. It is intended for small countries with less budgetary capacity and lower credit ratings, said Leuprecht.
Canada would not necessarily have access to this $ 235 billion fund, he added. The exception could be if a country not of the EU which needs funds – for example, Ukraine (which is part of the global program) – is necessary to accelerate.
There are rules in the loan program that encourages members to buy European and partners’ equipment.
