European Union officials say Canada is likely to sign a defence procurement agreement with the continent when Prime Minister Mark Carney goes to Brussels later this month.
Carney is set to visit Brussels on June 23 for the Canada-EU summit, where he will meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
Attending the G7 summit in Alberta today, both EU leaders say Canada’s involvement in what they call Europe’s “rapidly evolving defence architecture” is set to deepen.
Von der Leyen says Canada will sign a security and defence partnership with the EU which will allow it to join a European loan program for joint defence projects.
The 150-billion euro program is called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, and is part of the ReArm Europe initiative that Carney says he wants Canada to join.
Von der Leyen says the SAFE program can be joined by Europe’s “very close allies, friends and partners” and the deal this month will allow for negotiations on bringing Canada into the program.
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