Defense Pact Canada-EU Signed

Canada is now partnering with the EU in strategic defense initiatives such as ReArm Europe and SAFE funding programs.

At the EU-Canada summit in Brussels yesterday, the two parties signed their new defense pact. As a further addition besides the CETA trade agreement and the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), the defense partnership is intended, among other aims, help both Ottawa and Brussels to deliver on NATO’s new capability requirements. The shared need of both parties is to shift defense and security relationship away from the US at a time where it is pivoting away from investing in NATO and in the wake of Trump's threats to annex America's northern neighbors including Canada as well as Greenland.

The strategic interests of Canada and EU are very closely related in this respect, if not identical. The defense pact is a realization of such shared interest. NATO remains the military alliance for Canada and the majority of EU countries that are also NATO members, but this defense and security pact goes beyond current collaboration. It allows Canada into some EU programs under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), where member states collaborate on capability development and military planning. Most importantly, Canada will become party to EU's new defense spending programs under its multi-billion euro ReArm Europe initiative.

Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Carney and António Costa at the summit in Brussels. Photo: Dati Bendo © European Union, 2025

NATO

Canada and European NATO countries have already agreed to dramatically increase their defense spending, which will be reaffirmed by alliance leaders during their summit in The Hague starting today.

At the press conference after the signing of the defense agreement, European Council President António Costa said:

While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness faster and better — to invest more and smarter.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:

Dear Mark,

You took the helm of the G7 presidency in challenging times, and you delivered. You brought countries together at a moment when unity is more vital than ever. You helped bring focus to pressing issues and encouraged frank exchange. And you said, at this moment, we have to turn the many challenges into change.

That is what we are doing today, as we meet here in Brussels. As the saying goes, “Hard times reveal true friends.” In these challenging times, we are taking huge steps forward to deepen our strategic partnership. Let me start with defence. Canada and the European Union have been working closely on this for years, both bilaterally and in NATO. Canada has been leading NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia since 2014. You are making Europe's eastern flank stronger and safer. Today we are stepping up our cooperation. As you said, we signed a Security and Defence Partnership. It will strengthen Canada's role in Europe's rapidly evolving defence architecture, and this is just the beginning. We will now swiftly launch talks on Canada's access to our joint military procurement instrument, SAFE. It is EUR 150 billion. Together, we will define where our cooperation can have the most value added, and where we should channel joint investments. It will be good for our industries; it will be good for our people; and it will be good for transatlantic security, too. And of course it will be good for our continued support to Ukraine. Because the more we invest in the highly innovative Ukrainian industry, the more the industry will be capable, and the better Ukraine can defend itself.

Joint statement

According to the joint statement, Ottawa will now work with Brussels on a bilateral agreement related to EU’s 150 billion euro Security Action for Europe (SAFE) plan. In contrast to the rest of the total 800 billion euro ReArm Europe program which is basically member state funding, SAFE is direct funding from the EU Commission. The program is limited to EU countries and close allies, issuing loans to members to buy weapons and allowing other countries to take part in joint procurements.

Our strong partnership is deeply rooted in trust and common values and shaped by a shared history of human connection and robust economic ties. Most importantly, our partnership is grounded in the core values we share: democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and open, rules-based markets. In a rapidly changing world marked by geopolitical uncertainty, shifting economic dynamics, and the accelerating impacts of climate change, this partnership is more important than ever.

We reaffirm our resolute condemnation of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a manifest violation of the UN Charter and international law. Our commitment to ensuring a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine that respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders is unshakeable.

Carney’s comments

Carney said at the press conference that he was ‘very pleased’ with the prospect of participating in SAFE.

We are both embarking on major investments in our defense capacities. We have some complementarities that will allow us to move more rapidly.

Link to Mark Carney's intervention

Carney mentions that this includes simple things such as ammunition, as well as complex things as aerospace, AI and cyber. Pooling resources is giving more than the sum of the parts, it will be mutually reinforcing. It will strengthen the industrial base, not just defense but also related civilian or dual-use industries.

It will help us deliver on our new requirements for capabilities more rapidly and more effectively, will help build our industries, secure our jurisdictions. What we will do should be more efficient for both of us, should be more cost-effective for both of us.