Canada has joined a major European Union defense fund. The move, announced Monday by the office of Prime Minister Mark Carney, allows Canadian defense companies access to a 150 billion euro EU loan program called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE.
Canada is the first non-EU country to gain access.
Carney has said he intends to diversify Canada’s procurement and enhance the country’s relationship with the EU. He has previously said that no more will over 70 cents of every dollar of Canadian military capital spending go to the U.S.