The European Commission has adopted the tentative allocation of EUR 150 billion in financial assistance to strengthen defence readiness across the Union.
The step, taken under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, is designed to boost the EU’s defence capabilities and help EU Member States address critical gaps, as well as to purchase defence products together.
Readiness 2030 is an ambitious defence package providing financial levers to EU Member States to drive an investment surge in defence capabilities.The ‘tentative’ allocation per Member States is available here.
Following its adoption by the Council in May 2025, the SAFE programme drew strong interest, with 19 Member States expressing their intention to participate and seeking support beyond the available budget.
SAFE is designed to provide long-term, low-cost loans to help EU Member States procure urgently needed defence equipment. SAFE will also allow the EU to further support Ukraine by associating its defence industry to the instrument from the start. The programme includes a 10-year grace period for loan repayment, competitive interest rates, and options for bilateral agreements with third countries to widen eligibility.
Member States can now prepare their national investment plans, describing the use of the possible financial assistance, to be presented by end November 2025. The Commission will then assess these national plans, with the aim of making the first disbursements in early 2026.
SAFE will allow Member States to immediately and massively scale up their defence investments through joint procurement from the European defence industry, focusing on priority capabilities. This will contribute to ensuring interoperability, predictability, and reducing costs for a strong European defence industrial base. Ukraine and EFTA/EEA countries will be able to join common procurement, and it will be possible to buy from their industries.
