SAFE was adopted by the Council in May 2025 and has already attracted interest from 19 Member States, exceeding the available budget. The programme offers long-term, low-cost loans with a 10-year grace period, competitive rates, and options for bilateral agreements with third countries.
Member States must prepare their national investment plans by the end of November 2025, describing how they intend to use the assistance. The Commission will assess these plans with the first disbursements expected in early 2026.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: “Today’s decision demonstrates the European Union’s commitment to defence cooperation and its determination to invest in a more secure future. As we move forward with the SAFE programme, we will help Member States to ramp up their defence capabilities based on their national and NATO priorities.”
Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, stated: “SAFE is a historical success for the European Union. With the White Paper on Defence Readiness, we committed to supporting the rearmament effort of Member States and Ukraine. Less than six months later, this is now a reality. This significant amount will help deter our enemies and strengthen European defence. From now on we will work closely with our Member States to ensure that this funding is used to improve interoperability, develop European defence industrial base and strengthen our collective defence capabilities.”
Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, added: “We are putting the EU’s budget to work for our security. With SAFE, we make the most of our resources, helping Member States spend more efficiently on defence. It also shows that the EU can act quickly and decisively when needed.”
