La Commissione approva la prima ondata di finanziamenti per la difesa per otto Stati membri nel quadro del programma SAFE

# Commission approves first wave of defence funding for eight Member States under SAFE

The European Commission has endorsed the **national defence plans** of eight Member States, marking a milestone in Europe’s push to strengthen its security. The Commission submitted a proposal to the Council to approve financial assistance for **Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania**.

President of the European Commission, Ursula **von der Leyen**, said: *“Last year, the EU has made more progress in defence than in decades before. The White Paper and the Readiness Roadmap 2030 enabled Member States to mobilise up to 800 billion euros for defence. This includes the 150 billion euros for joint procurement – SAFE. We have now approved an initial batch of SAFE plans for Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania. The others will follow shortly after. It is now urgent for the Council to approve these plans to allow fast disbursement.”*

This decision follows a rigorous assessment of the countries’ “National Defence Investment Plans” under the [Security Action for Europe (SAFE)](https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-defence-industry/safe-security-action-europe_en#:~:text=Expression%20of%20interest%20to%20access%20loans%20through%20SAFE%3A) initiative. The endorsement paves the way for the first wave of low-cost, long-term loans to be released, allowing these nations to urgently scale up their military readiness and acquire needed modern defence equipment. It also integrates Ukraine into the EU security ecosystem and ensures our support is both rapid and sustainable. 

The funding levels for each country were [provisionally set in September](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2042) , based on principles of solidarity and transparency. For example, €1.18 billion has been earmarked for Cyprus, while €16.68 billion is tentatively allocated for Romania. This group of 8 Member States are entitled to around €38 billion after the loan agreements will be signed. These funds will provide a vital boost to strategic capabilities where they are needed most.

# Next steps

With the Commission’s assessment complete, the Council now has four weeks to adopt the implementing decisions. Once approved, the Commission will finalize the loan agreements, with the first payments expected to hit the ground in March 2026.