Poland first in EU to receive SAFE defence loan payment
According to EURACTIV, Poland on Friday was the first country to receive a share of its €43.7 billion allocation from the Security Action For Europe (SAFE) loan programme for defence procurement.
Warsaw received €6.6 billion, making up 15% of its total allocation.
A total of 19 countries last year requested access to the €150 billion SAFE loan programme aimed at spurring joint defence procurement. Warsaw received the largest allocation, followed by Romania, Hungary, France, and Italy.
Hungary’s plan is the last plan still awaiting the Commission’s approval.
“Europe must be prepared for any scenario and ready to act under any circumstances,” Technology and Security Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said on Friday, adding the mechanism “is an essential tool for securing and advancing our continent’s urgent military capabilities.”
Her comments came as a Russian drone crashed in the eastern Romanian city of Galati, injuring two civilians. The incident prompted Romania to ask NATO to deploy additional counter-drone capabilities.
Poland has embarked on a signing spree since the Commission approved its SAFE plan earlier this year, recently inking deals to purchase trucks, tankers and loitering munitions from Polish companies.
“By Saturday, there will be 40 contracts worth 100 billion zlotys (€23.6 billion). We defend, we don’t talk,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday.
Although the programme aims to spur joint procurement, countries can still use SAFE loans for national procurement, as long as the contracts are signed within a year of SAFE entering into force last May.
In such cases, governments are expected to extend the benefits of these contracts to other countries.
Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius previously said that 35% of the €150 billion committed through the programme was earmarked for national procurement only.
So far, five countries have signed a loan agreement with the Commission to receive a first share of their allocation: Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania, and most recently, Belgium.
