The key facts

  • The Commission opened a second SAFE application round until 13 November for €21.3 billion in unused funds
  • Ukraine faces a budget deficit of around €70 billion due to ongoing strikes
  • The EU cannot force countries to involve Ukrainian companies: the loans are taken for their own defence

Unused SAFE loans reopened

The European Commission on Thursday opened a new round of low-interest defence loans under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, making €21.3 billion available that member states had previously failed to spend. At the same time, Brussels is urging countries to channel this money into joint projects with Ukrainian companies — primarily in air and missile defence, drones and ammunition — as Kyiv faces a budget deficit of around €70 billion amid ongoing devastating strikes. Euronews reports on this.

Why the money was left over and who is expected to take it

The SAFE programme was created to urgently build up the EU's defence capabilities against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine and doubts about American security guarantees. A number of countries — above all Italy, Hungary and France — borrowed noticeably less than expected, which left the unused remainder. Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, in a letter to governments, called for deepening cooperation with Ukraine through joint ventures; Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier stressed that 'these leftovers can benefit both national defence industries and Ukraine — the two interests can be combined.'

Poland as a key factor and the limits of Brussels' influence

The largest beneficiary of SAFE is Poland with €43.73 billion, almost 30% of the total. The single-country procurement rule, in force until May and introduced, according to Euronews, at the insistence of Polish Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin, allowed Warsaw to reserve 89% of the funds for its own defence industry. Now, for new applications, this rule no longer applies, and the Commission hopes that Poland and other countries, in order to meet the multi-country procurement requirement, will bring Ukraine in — although there is no minimum share for a second country, and, as an unnamed EU official admitted, there is 'no guarantee that this will happen.' In addition, eight countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, did not take part in SAFE at all, while Romania is already under an excessive deficit procedure, so part of the sum may remain unclaimed. Current rules do not allow the unused loans to be directly reallocated to Kyiv.