The European Commission has given the green light to Belgium's defence investment plan on Thursday. The approval of the plan offers the prospect of more than €8 billion in favourable European loans.
Belgium was one of 19 Member States that signed up last year to participate in SAFE. The programme is a new €150 billion European financing programme for Member States that want to invest jointly in the European defence industry.
Through the scheme, they can make joint military purchases to address weaknesses in the European defence belt, such as drones, missiles and air defence.
In order to access the loans, EU Member States had to submit a national investment plan. The Commission approved the first eight plans this week.
In addition to Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Denmark, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania also received the green light. Together, they are set to receive around €38 billion in loans, including €8.34 billion for Belgium.
The Council (the European Union institution in which the Member States are represented, ed.) has four weeks to ratify the decisions.
After that, the Commission wants to finalise the concrete loan agreements as quickly as possible. It hopes to make the first payments by March.
"Our mission is clear: to build a more resilient Union very quickly through SAFE," said European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius in a press release.
"By focusing on joint procurement, we are ensuring that Member States buy together, which reduces costs and ensures that our equipment works seamlessly across borders.’"
In addition to SAFE, the Commission is also offering Member States the option of temporarily excluding defence expenditure from the calculation of their budgetary balance.
In this way, it hopes to mobilise a further €650 billion, including in countries that are not participating in SAFE because they can borrow on better terms.
