The European Commission (EC) has approved the national defence plans of eight EU Member States, marking an important milestone in Europe’s efforts to strengthen its security, the EC said in a press release on Thursday.
The EC 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 mobilize up to EUR 800 billion for defence. This includes EUR 150 billion 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) 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.
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