The EU and Canada announced on Monday that agreement had been reached on allowing Ottawa to participate in Europe's €150 billion ($174 billion) SAFE defense financing instrument.

In a joint statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the agreement as "the next step in our deepening cooperation and symbolic of the shared priorities of the European Union and Canada."

What else did the EU and Canadian leaders say?

 "In these geopolitically turbulent times, it (SAFE) is a means to increase cooperation, meet defense targets and spend better, as we address short-term urgency and long-term needs," von der Leyen and Carney said in their statement.

"Together, we will create resilient defense supply chains between our industries at a crucial time for global security," they said.

What does SAFE aim to do?

The SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program is meant to grant loans to its members on favorable terms for jointly purchasing weapons with other partners.

The loans will be secured via the EU budget.

It has been set up as the EU seeks to boost its defense industry in response to growing military aggression from Russia at a time when the US appears to be withdrawing from its long-time defense solidarity with Europe.

Canada's move to join the project comes as it, too, is trying to reduce its reliance on its neighbor for defense as it faces growing hostility from the US Trump administration.

Although joint arms purchases made with the aid of SAFE must have at least 65% of their components manufactured within the 27-member EU, non-member states such as Canada could be granted exemptions.

The UK had also announced its desire to join the SAFE program but in the end balked at the entry fee asked of participating countries.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher