Poland reacted to the European Commission’s plans to allocate billions of euros to Ukraine’s defense
Фото: facebook European Commission
This was reported by the Polish RMF FM, citing its correspondent in Brussels.
According to her, this is a separate program for joint projects with the Ukrainian defense industry.
European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius noted that the exact amount is yet to be determined. According to his preliminary estimate, it could be 10–20 billion euros.
The funds are planned to be directed to joint defense projects between Ukraine and the EU, in particular, the production of weapons in Ukraine and the creation of joint defense enterprises and systems.
Von der Leyen said that this would allow Ukraine’s combat experience and technologies to be combined with the capabilities of European companies. Among possible examples, she mentioned FREYA, a European-Ukrainian air defense and missile defense system.
At the same time, the statement came as a surprise to Poland and some other EU countries. Warsaw had planned to participate in the second SAFE round and prepare its own defense projects.
According to RMF FM, EU countries were not informed in advance about the plan to use the remaining SAFE funds for the program with Ukraine. One of the unnamed diplomats said that there were no such negotiations with the European Commission.
He also noted that SAFE involves loans that member states must repay later. Therefore, some countries believe that they should have the decisive vote on the use of the remaining funds.
How much money can remain in SAFE?
The exact amount of unused funding is not yet known. EU countries must provide the European Commission with information on the implementation of their projects by the end of October. After that, it will become clear how much remains.
Previously, unofficially, it was about 10 billion euros. Italy agreed to almost 15 billion euros, but it has not yet signed an agreement for the full amount. Hungary agreed to about 16 billion euros, but it is not yet known whether the country will have time to sign the agreement within the specified time frame.
What is SAFE?
SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is an EU financial instrument with a credit limit of up to €150 billion. It provides long-term loans to member states for the development of defense capabilities and joint procurement.
The European Commission plans to create a separate mechanism to use the unused balance of SAFE in joint projects with Ukrainian defense enterprises. The exact amount of such funding will be known after the completion of the projects of the EU countries.
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