Eight Countries Approved for New Defence Funding
The European Commission has approved national investment plans from eight EU countries under a new €150 billion defence loan scheme, marking a major step in the bloc’s push to strengthen its military readiness. Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Finland will collectively receive access to €74 billion through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, with Poland alone accounting for €43.7 billion of that total.
This follows an earlier round of approvals in January, when another eight countries secured €38 billion in funding. In total, 19 member states have applied to tap into SAFE, although plans from Czechia, France and Hungary are still awaiting approval.
Turning Strategy Into Military Capability
SAFE is a central pillar of the EU’s broader Readiness 2030 plan, which aims to mobilise up to €800 billion for defence by the end of the decade. The initiative is designed to speed up the procurement of critical military equipment at a time when intelligence agencies warn Russia could be capable of launching another attack on a European country within years.
Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the latest approvals show the EU is moving beyond strategy papers and into concrete action. He described the funding as a clear signal that Europe is serious about its security, sovereignty and military capabilities, while also sending a message to both European industry and potential adversaries.
Investing in European-Made Defence
The SAFE scheme focuses on priority defence needs, including ammunition, missiles, artillery, drones, air and missile defence systems, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare and the protection of critical infrastructure and space assets. A key requirement is that most of the equipment must be produced in Europe, with no more than 35% of component costs coming from outside the EU, its associated partners or Ukraine. Canada will also be allowed to participate under a separate agreement.
Because the European Commission borrows on the market using its strong credit rating, the scheme offers particularly attractive terms for countries with weaker national ratings. EU ministers now have four weeks to formally approve the plans, with the first payments expected in March 2026.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously suggested that strong demand for SAFE, which was initially oversubscribed, could lead to the programme being expanded in the future.
