The European Commission offers EU countries another €21.3 billion for defense and calls on them to involve Ukraine in procurement

The European Commission has called on EU countries to join the second round of the SAFE program, which has been allocated €21.3 billion. It also encourages European states to include joint arms purchases with Ukraine in their defense plans.

This was reported by the European Commission, reports the Babel correspondent.

Among the priorities are air defense and missile defense systems, drones and means of countering them, as well as ammunition and missiles.

Important: €21.3 billion under the second round of SAFE is not a separate aid package for Ukraine. It is about funds for EU countries, which can be used, in particular, for joint defense procurement with Ukraine.

SAFE is an EU program that provides €150 billion in long-term loans to rearmament European countries and develop their defense industries. It is part of the Readiness 2030 plan, designed to strengthen Europeʼs defense capabilities.

The European Commission has now approved loan agreements with all 19 countries that have decided to join SAFE. Agreements have already been signed with 16 countries. In total, 11 countries have received almost €13.5 billion in pre-financing.

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