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Montreal-based Marconi Technologies is the first Canadian company to land a contract under the SAFE defence procurement agreement Canada signed with the European Union.
Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the news on Monday at the G7 leaders’ summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, before a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
“The first concrete example. There will be many more,” Carney said. “We’re stronger together and very pleased to continue these discussions.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said Marconi won a contract worth more than $10 million to supply Canadian-made tactical radios to Poland’s military.
The firm will partner with Polish company Enamor International, with deliveries expected to begin this year and run through to 2030.
The European Parliament formally welcomed Canada into the defence borrowing and procurement agreement known as Security Action for Europe (SAFE) in May, the only non-European country to join.
The 150-billion euro program grants preferential access to defence contracts financed through low-interest loans. It’s part of a broader initiative aimed at reducing the continent’s military reliance on the United States.
As the first non-European country taking part in SAFE, Canadian companies can partner with European peers to bid on joint projects and access favourable financing.
Canada’s participation in SAFE was all but confirmed last June when Carney signed a security and defence partnership with the European Union during a visit to Brussels.
Last December, the European Union revealed Canada’s fee to join this program would be 10 million euros — the equivalent of $16 million. Some observers questioned how much investment the pact would generate.
The fee is proportionate to the scale of contracts the EU expects a country will generate for its domestic industry. The assessed fee for the U.K. is several times the size of Canada’s fee.
Costa said in French it was a pleasure to see Carney and that they become closer with every visit. He said it’s important they work together to reinforce stability and predictability.
Canada and the EU have “never been closer,” said von der Leyen.
She said the three leaders would speak about work toward a digital trade agreement and trade in critical raw materials.
“All good signs and a packed agenda,” she said.
Europe plays a central role in Carney’s vision for rebuilding the international order and weaning Canada off its decades-long reliance on the United States for trade and security partnerships.
A government official, briefing reporters on background before Carney’s trip to Europe, said the prime minister would continue to position Canada as a reliable and constructive partner during the visit.
Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced an agreement between Canada and France to work closely together on boosting defence and AI capabilities.
Carney was in Paris Friday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ahead of their meeting, Carney announced that Canada and France will deepen their defence and industrial co-operation through a new general security of information agreement.
He then spent the weekend in Ireland, meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin before travelling to western Ireland, where he met with President Catherine Connolly and toured the village his grandparents emigrated from more than a century ago.
Carney landed in Geneva mid-afternoon and travelled by helicopter to the G7 summit site in the French Alps.
Carney, Costa and von der Leyen are set to meet again at the next Canada-EU Summit in Canada at the end of October.
