As of July 29, 9 European Union member states have submitted official applications for loans under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program, which provides for investments in defense production, including in Ukraine. However, the European Commission expects that the number of these countries will increase to 20 in the near future. This was announced by European Commission spokesperson Thomas Rainier at a briefing in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.
"Nine member states have officially expressed their interest in receiving loans under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) program. These are Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Hungary and Lithuania. This is the list for now, but I am quite sure that their number will grow, and quite impressively - already today," said Thomas Rainier.
He also noted that the European Commission is confident in these forecasts, as European Commissioner for Security and Defense Andrius Kubilius had previously made similar forecasts, based on communication with the governments of the member states. In addition, during his visit to the United States, Kubilius called on the American side to join in financing the purchase of Ukrainian weapons through SAFE.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal discussed with European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis the role of Ukraine in the European security system and expressed readiness for joint development of combat technologies with partners funded under the SAFE program.
By the way, it recently became known that Romania is interested in producing drones together with Ukraine. It is reported that the Romanian Ministry of National Defense plans to negotiate with Ukrainian officials to establish the production of drones in Romania, and subsequently sell them to other European countries.