Canada and Europe will approach a little more on Monday, since Prime Minister Mark Carney signs a strategic association of defense and security with the European Union.
The agreement will open the door for Canadian companies to participate in the Roarm Europe of $ 1.25 billion program, which is considered a step to make Canada depend less and less vulnerable to the caprices of the United States.
Eventually, it will also help the Canadian government to associate with other allied nations to buy military equipment under what is known as the safe program.
More conversations and agreements will be needed before both aspects become a reality.
Carney has been pointing out for months that his government is not happy to spend up to 70 percent of its appropriation of military teams made in the US.
Other nations that are not from the EU, including the United Kingdom, have already reached their own strategic agreements. Australia pointed out last week that negotiations on an agreement with Europe has begun.
The main political correspondent, Rosemary Barton, speaks with former NATO general, George Robertson, about how the Roarm Europe Plan could help Canada reduce its military dependence on the United States.
Much of the approach has been in the aspects of acquiring joint equipment of imminent treatment. However, the United Kingdom agreement, made public on May 19, establishes a series of institutional links for crisis management, maritime security and cybersecurity.
It is not as integral as the NATO alliance. But given the growing uncertainty about the reliability of the Trump administration, the association is important.
“It could complement NATO. It is not necessarily a substitute,” said Stephen Saideman, who owns Paterson president in international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
“It makes sense to work with Europeans as much as we can in defense,” he said. “Maybe if we do this kind of thing, NATO can live even if the United States retires.”
NATO expenses to be debated
Carney will attend the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in The Hague, in the Netherlands, almost immediately after signing the Defense and Security Agreement with the EU
The Western Military Alliance of 32 members will discuss the increase in the defense spending reference to a five percent combined of the gross domestic product of a country (3.5 percent for direct military spending and additional 1.5 percent for defense infrastructure).
Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, said that the way in which the Defense Association and the Roarm Europe program are established, could not be considered a replacement for NATO because there is no operational military aspect in individual arrangements.
However, a significant aspect of the United Kingdom agreement implies strengthening cooperation through “exchanges on situational awareness and threat evaluations in areas of common interest, including classified information.”
The agreement continues to say 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 the security laws of Great Britain. That is significant because the United Kingdom, such as Canada, is part of the Five Eyes Intelligence-Sharing network that includes the United States.
It is not clear, at this time, if the Canada agreement will contain similar provisions.
LeuPret describes Rearm Europe as a “poster” with the mission of reducing the prices of military equipment through collective acquisition.
A large component of the EU scheme is the safe loan program that allows member countries to borrow funds for military equipment at more favorable rates than direct national loans. It is intended for smaller countries with less fiscal capacity and lower credit grades, Leuprecht said.
Canada would not necessarily have access to that fund of $ 235 billion, he added. The exception could be if a country that is not of the EU that needs funds, for example, Ukraine (which is part of the general program), to take advantage of it is required.
There are rules for the loan program that encourage members to buy European and associate teams.
