Sixteen of the 19 submitted plans have now received the essential final approval needed to unlock the initial funding payments for defence equipment procurement.
On Tuesday, finance ministers validated the national defence investment plans of eight additional European Union member states, collectively representing about half of the Commission’s defence loan facility.
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The approved plans, submitted by Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Finland, amount to €74 billion, equaling half of the €150 billion allocated through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) financial mechanism. Notably, Poland requested more than €43 billion alone.
«These implementing decisions will enable the Commission to grant accessible, long-term loans through the SAFE instrument, underscoring the EU’s commitment to concrete defence support,» stated a representative of the Cypriot Council presidency of the European Union.
This endorsement follows the approval given last week by defence ministers to an initial group of plans from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, and Romania, whose combined value reaches €38 billion.
A total of 19 member states submitted requests for financial support under SAFE. Among these, the Czech Republic, France, and Hungary remain under the Commission’s review, which must be completed before their proposals can be presented for ministers’ final sanction; following this, the EU executive will finalize loan agreements and initiate pre-financing disbursements, potentially up to 15% of the requested sums.
Subsequent funding tranches will depend on ongoing progress reports that member states must regularly provide to the EU executive.
Fortifying Europe’s Defence
SAFE forms part of the Commission’s broader Readiness 2030 strategy, which aims to mobilize up to €800 billion for defence investments before 2030, focusing on accelerating the acquisition of key defence assets.
These assets encompass ammunition and missile systems, artillery, drones and counter-drone technologies, as well as air and missile defence systems, protection of critical infrastructure, safeguarding of space-based assets, cybersecurity measures, artificial intelligence applications, and electronic warfare capabilities.
A crucial condition of the programme is that procured equipment must be manufactured in Europe, with no more than 35% of component costs sourced from outside the EU, EEA-EFTA, or Ukraine.
The initiative targets member states with credit ratings below that of the Commission, enabling them to secure more favorable borrowing terms.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted late last year that the scheme’s high demand—exceeding the initial €150 billion requested by the 19 participating countries—could lead to its expansion in the future.