Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Hungary, and Lithuania have formally expressed an interest in requesting the loans, the EU’s defense spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters on Tuesday.
Others including Czech Republic, Latvia, Bulgaria and Greece indicated they will do so before the deadline on Tuesday at midnight.
By jointly buying weapons through the scheme, countries can secure a lower price than they would obtain by going it alone and then deliver the armaments to Ukraine.
France is also likely to apply for the loans, while Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are expected to decline, according to people familiar with those governments’ plans.
However, even countries not taking loans are still able to cut the cost of arms deliveries by taking part in joint procurements.
European countries are facing growing pressure to increase their own weapons stocks and to boost military aid to Ukraine after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled unwillingness to continue funding Kyiv’s war effort.