Nine EU member states, including Belgium, have formally announced their intention to utilise the European Union’s SAFE mechanism, which offers up to €150 billion in favourable loans for joint defence investments, according to a spokesperson from the European Commission on Tuesday.
SAFE is part of a significant rearmament plan introduced by the European Commission in March, aiming to mobilise up to €800 billion for defence in the coming years.
Theoretically, an additional €650 billion can be invested by activating a special clause that temporarily excludes defence spending from budget deficit calculations. Through SAFE, the EU seeks to provide €150 billion in loans for member states that collaborate on defence industry projects and address weaknesses in European defence. The funds can also be used to purchase military equipment for Ukraine or to invest directly in Ukraine’s defence industry.
The Commission set a “soft deadline” for today, 29 July, midnight, for member states to express their interest in these loans. By mid-day, nine states—Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Spain, Hungary, and Lithuania—had formally expressed interest. The spokesperson indicated confidence that this number would increase significantly.
The European Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, stated last week that he expects at least 20 member states to apply for loans totalling over €100 billion.
