Photo. @Mark J Carney/X
Canada is set to join the European Union’s Military Procurement Fund. Will the UK follow suit?
Canadian daily The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-eu-military-procurement-fund-defence-spending/) has confirmed that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will join the EU’s SAFE instrument. For now, it remains unclear what the “entry fee” Ottawa will pay to participate in the program. What is known, however, is what the northern neighbor of the United States stands to gain.
Canada in SAFE — What about the United Kingdom?
What exactly does Canada gain by joining the Secure Action for Europe (SAFE) program? First, it will gain the ability to make joint arms purchases with other European Union member states, which should translate into preferential pricing from manufacturers. The second major potential benefit for the government in Ottawa is that Canadian defense companies will be able to compete for contracts in countries participating in SAFE.
It is worth noting that Canada is the first non-European country to join the Secure Action for Europe instrument. Another expected non-EU participant is the United Kingdom, but so far Brussels and London have not reached a final agreement. It turns out that despite the official deadline for funding applications having passed, the British will still be able to join SAFE. This was recently confirmed by the European Commission’s defense spokesperson, Thomas Regnier.
More on the potential British accession and the existing issues complicating the UK’s participation in SAFE can be found in this article.