While Canada and Europe are looking for a defense partner, how can this look like? – My country

As an American president Donald Trump She still doubts the future NATO The Military Alliance, Canada aspires to a partnership with the European Union for Defense.

Here is a closer look at what causes this main transformation in the Atlantic relationships.

Federico Santoponto, a defense policy analyst, said Washington said that Washington will not necessarily defend NATO allies – a threat that undermines the entire alliance point.

“The Europeans feel very weak without the United States,” said Santoponto, the first researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

He said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revealed the continent’s dependence on American defense spending.

While European countries have almost spent the same United States on military aid to Kev, Washington has provided Ukraine with indispensable equipment, monitoring, and exploration.

When the United States and Germany – which was concerned about the possibility of direct conflict with Moscow – Ukraine from using American and German weapons to strike targets in the depth of Russia, many European Union countries saw how their hands could be linked if they need to use the donated equipment in some future conflict.

“The war in Ukraine has learned that when the war is waging, it should be sovereign on the weapons that you have,” Santoponto said.

In addition, many of the defense market in Europe is fragmented. Many European Union countries have non -operating military equipment, which leaves gaps in capabilities throughout the continent, especially in air defense.

The European Union has no army, but it can help organize military industries on the continent.

Canadian officials have sought to reduce their dependence on American equipment, especially since Trump, in March, hoped to sell “editions of the lining” of combat aircraft with less potential of US aircraft.

For more than a year, Canada and the European Union were in talks about the possible “security and defense” partnership.

Brussels signed such deals with Japan and South Korea, but it focused largely on joint marine exercises. The deal with Canada will include defense purchases, according to officials on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

In a white paper released in March, the European Union’s approach to the defense industries said, the European Union said that “our cooperation with Canada has intensified and must be further strengthened … including the relevant initiatives to enhance the production of the defense industry.”

“European companies are already invested extensively and widely in Canada, including defense,” said Christian Lubricht, a professor of political science at Queens University and the Royal Military College.

In March, the European Commission revealed the reunification of Europe, a plan that distinguishes the equivalent of 1.25 trillion Kandi’s dollars for five years.

It is not a support program, but it will provide loans and allow member states to spend more debts on defense, without raising the restrictions imposed by the European Union on members who suffer from excessive deficit.

Santoptutun said the European Union countries are determined to reduce spending due to the high cost of borrowing is unlikely to take more debts, despite armament.

However, ReldM proposes a loan program worth about $ 235 billion to be called in security measures for Europe, or safe, allowing countries to work with others outside the European Union to buy or build weapons jointly.

The program is still negotiated and may only allow such partnerships with countries that signed security and defense agreements with the European Union. Canada does not have such an agreement.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was elected on a platform and promised to provide “Canada’s participation in the plan to reunify Europe to support via Atlantic security.”

“Even a small part of this money,” said on the re -infiltration, will be the lifestyle of a Canadian economy that is struggling under the weight of American definitions, “said Leuprecht.

Foreign Affairs Minister Milani Jolie said a month ago that she expects a defensive agreement with Europe “in the coming months.” She said that the deal could be very good for artificial intelligence companies in Montreal, shipbuilding in Montreal and shipbuilding near Quebec.

Reports have emerged in recent months of division between European Union members on how a safe loan program works – and whether it can be used to make joint purchases with Canada and the United Kingdom

For years, France has called for Europe to “strategic self -rule” in defense. Santoponto said France – which has a large local weapons industry – has pushed Europe to form most or all its own military equipment.

France has tried to revolve around an American law that limits arms exports produced with certain parts of us.

Santoponto said that Poland and countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – countries on the threshold of Russia – prefer to see the United States continues an active role in Europe’s defense.

Other European Union countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, have indicated openness to linking the European Union military supply chains to similar countries in thinking.

Separately, Germany and Norway proposed partnership with Canada to buy new submarines – a project that gives Ottawa early access to ships and helped him achieve NATO goals. Norway is not a member of the European Union.

Santoponto said that the European Union wants to use its influence due to the size of its market to set the standards of military purchases that would make it easy for European armies to work together.

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He said: “It is a way for the European Union a stronger representative in the field of armaments” through “a new alternative to industrial defense policy on the dominance of the United States.”

The European Union used its economic influence and population to set standards in other areas adopted worldwide – such as requirements that web sites seek to obtain permission to collect customized information.

Leuprecht said that Canada can offer Europe a place to produce cheaper energy weapons, and access the data centers required to operate some military technology.

He said: “It is an opportunity for Canada to contribute to deterrence, by strengthening these relations with our European partners and (by) Russia, knowing that Canada will be for our European partners.”

For years, Ottawa’s allies pressed Canada to reach guidelines to defend NATO members by 2 percent of GDP – Ottawa has not met the target since the alliance was identified in 2006.

This pressure has been escalated since Russia launched its war on Ukraine – especially since Trump began to suggest that the United States may not reach NATO allies who do not have a goal.

For fear that the regional gains in Ukraine will encourage Moscow to invade countries like Latvia – where Canadian forces act as part of the deterrent mission – European countries have already discussed increasing the goal of spending on NATO to 2.5 or three percent.

European Union officials often say that Canada is among its closest partners and participates in values. Ottawa is already a party to European Union programs such as Pesco that allows some cooperation between defense.

But Lebrecht indicated that European leaders remained largely calm about Trump’s talk about the inclusion of Canada.

“The amazing silence … tells you a lot about the viewpoint of the Europeans regarding the reliability of Canada,” he said.

Leuprecht blames this silence for what is adequate defensive spending in Canada and its failure to export energy such as LNG across the Atlantic Ocean. He said he was suspected of being the reason that a third of the European Union states are still completely not fully believed in the trade deal with Canada.

He said that Canada’s economy is like Russia, but Moscow is more effective in progressing its strategic goals.

“There is a widespread belief in Europe that Canada was not a reliable partner and a good reputation when Europe needs Canada,” Lebrecht said, adding that it would be difficult for Canada to miss the goals of defense spending when you are with another country.

“This is an opportunity for Canada to show Europe that we are ready to be the reliable partner that we were in the past.”

It is not according to the latest official joint report on the European Union and Canada’s relations, which was published last month.

“Canada and the European Union recognize that it is the main collective defense organization for coalition members, and continues to encourage the increase in cooperation between the European Union and NATO to benefit from the experience of each organization and its experiences.”

Leuprecht said that the European Union white paper aims to complete NATO so that Europe meets our demands to do more without losing security guarantee in Washington. He said that this arrangement is in the interest of Canada.

“If the European Union goes alone, the value of Canada for Europe will decrease significantly,” he said, saying that this may let Ottawa depend completely on Washington.

Santoponto said Europe wants to help Canada to maintain NATO. He said: “They could show that there is a Western democratic front that still exists, despite this strange and strange position of the United States.”

All of these things are expected to be on the agenda of NATO in June, which is expected to be attended by Carney and Trump. “This may be the most important summit of NATO ever,” said Liopricht.