Defence, second tranche of SAFE loans for eight countries: Italy to receive 14.9 billion

Brussels – European defence: the EU Commission gives the green light for a second wave of loans to Member States under SAFE, the €150 billion loan programme. The EU executive proposed disbursements to eight countries. Specifically, these are Italy, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia. The proposal to allocate resources to this group of Member States follows the one made ten days ago, bringing the total number of governments granted funding to 16 out of the 19 requests submitted to Brussels.

The final decision rests with the EU Council, as the Commission’s recommendation merely paves the way for loans to governments. The EU executive pointed out that “the financing levels for each country were provisionally set in September,” implying that the resources already identified are confirmed. For Italy and the Meloni government, this means 14.9 billion euros.

“With this second series of SAFE investments, Europe is finally backing up its security ambitions with the necessary financial weight,” commented a satisfied Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence, convinced that thanks to the special European programme and funding for governments, “we are no longer just developing strategies, we are building a hard-power reality, ” as opposed to the soft power that has characterised the European Union’s actions to date. The EU is moving from diplomacy and persuasion to coercion and deterrence. 

“This is a clear signal to both European industry and our adversaries,” the Defence Commissioner emphasised: “Europe takes its strength and sovereignty seriously, and our armed forces need the best and most timely personnel.”