Author: NatSec.ca

Securing Canada’s participation in the European Union’s SAFE program

The European Union and Canada signed an agreement that will allow Canada to participate in the $240 billion (€150 billion) loans-for-weapons SAFE initiative.

The agreement was signed on Saturday, February 14, 2026 in Germany, at the occasion of the Munich Security Conference, by European Union Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and David McGuinty, Minister of National Defence.

Canada is the first non-EU country to join the European Union’s SAFE initiative.

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Rubio outlines America’s far-right vision for Europe

At last year’s Munich Security Conference, US Vice President JD Vance stunned European leaders, accusing them of censorship, and suppressing far-right speech.

Today, Saturday, February 14, 2026, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated many of the same hard-right MAGA ideas, though in a slightly less aggressive tone, warning Europe of ‘civilization erasure’.

Rubio told European leaders that the European continent ‘belongs with’ the US, as the two have ‘spiritual’ ties, while making white nationalistic references. Rubio called on Europe to join Trump’s far-right world order.

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Canada signs agreement to work with Denmark on Arctic security

Canada’s agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark to work more closely together on matters of Arctic security and defence, which includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands, highlights their desire to build up their presence in their North, and their ability to defend it.

The signing, done by Defence Minister David McGuinty at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, February 13, 2026.

The co-operation agreement is not a formal treaty and does not commit Canada to defending Danish sovereignty over and above the commitments that already exist under NATO’s Article 5.

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German Chancellor Merz opened the Munich Security Conference saying Europe must prepare to stand more firmly on its own

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speech at the opening of the Munich Security Conference, amounted to a strategic repositioning of Germany: still anchored in NATO, but preparing for a future in which American guarantees are less reliable and Europe must carry more responsibility.

“In the era of great powers, our freedom is no longer simply guaranteed. It is under threat,” said Merz.

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Fewer Europeans consider the US under Trump “an ally that shares our interests and values”

Célia Belin and Pawel Zerka, at the European Council on Foreign Relations, write:

Across Europe, perceptions of the superpower have further deteriorated since November 2024, when Trump was re-elected. The most-shared perspective in each country, even in traditionally NATO-loving Denmark, Poland and the UK, is that the US is only a “necessary partner” rather than “an ally that shares our interests and values”. That puts it roughly on a par with India, Turkey or even China. In some countries—including Bulgaria, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland—a quarter or more of the respondents consider the US as a rival or even an adversary.

Only in some countries—Hungary, Poland and the UK—does this issue strongly divide the public. Three Trumpist parties in those places—Fidesz, Law and Justice (PiS) and Reform UK—are Europe’s main outliers. Many of their voters still see the US as the EU’s (or, in the UK’s case, “their country’s”) ally. But this perspective is not widely shared by supporters of other European new-right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Brothers of Italy (FdI) and the National Rally (RN) in France. Views on the US have hardly shifted in those three electorates, despite an eventful year and MAGA’s vocal ambitions to bring them closer to its orbit. Moreover, some such parties’ voters (for example, those of the AfD or FdI) have become more critical of what Trump means for American voters than they were a year ago.

The US ambassador to NATO claims the US is not out to dismantle NATO or undermine world order

In response to the Munich Security Report 2026, Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, is defended the US against criticism that the Trump administration’s shift in thinking about its global policies poses a real challenge to the liberal international order.

Source:

The Guardian: US not trying to dismantle NATO or undermine current world order, US ambassador says in response to MSC’s criticism report https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/feb/09/europe-eu-jimmy-lai-ukraine-russia-us-portugal-latest-news-updates

Elsewhere:

Munich Security Report 2026: https://securityconference.org/en/publications/munich-security-report/2026/

MSC Report asserts Europe needs to be more assertive and militarily independent from the US administration https://natsec.ca/2026/munich-security-report-warns-europe-assertive-militarily-independent-from-us/

Trump is threatening to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit

Trump said Monday, February 9, 2026, he will not allow the opening of a new bridge and trade route connecting Ontario and Michigan until the US is “compensated for everything we have given” Canada. In a lengthy anti-social post on his platform, Trump called for immediate negotiations over the bridge between Windsor and Detroit, saying he would seek US ownership of “at least one half of this asset.”

The Gordie Howe International Bridge is publicly owned by both Canada and the state of Michigan, with Canada funding the entire project.

Sources:

Trump’s anti-social post Monday February 9, 2026: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116043090074364624

MSC Report asserts Europe needs to be more assertive and militarily independent from the US administration

The Munich Security Report 2026 warns the greatest challenge to the liberal international order is “coming from within” through the dramatic shift in the current US administration that no longer shares a commitment to liberal democratic norms, values, and its alliances.

The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics. Sweeping destruction – rather than careful reforms and policy corrections – is the order of the day. The most prominent of those who promise to free their country from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild a stronger, more prosperous nation is the current US administration. As a result, more than 80 years after construction began, the US-led post-1945 international order is now under destruction.

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State-aligned cyberespionage group hit sensitive targets in over 37 nations

Across 37 countries, the state-aligned attackers are reported to have infiltrated networks of 70 organizations, including three ministries of finance, other government ministries, five national law enforcement and border control agencies.

Among those compromised, per the report: Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Czech Republic’s parliament and military, an Indonesian government official, and a Taiwanese power equipment supplier.

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Canada’s next election likely to face more AI-assisted foreign and domestic interference

Testifying before a parliamentary committee and speaking to reporters on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, foreign affairs deputy minister David Morrison and Nathalie Drouin, national security adviser to Prime Minister Mark Carney, said foreign adversaries are likely to use the increasingly popular artificial intelligence technology

The use of AI to disrupt the election could come from foreign actors or even those just trying to cause mischief.

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