BRUSSELS, May 27. /TASS/. The EU Council at the level of ministers for European affairs has approved the creation of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument aimed at boosting Europe’s military capabilities worth 150 bln euro, the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union said in a post on X.

"SAFE program finally approved. The instrument will provide financial assistance of up to 150 billion euros to strengthen Europe's security and its defense industry," the post reads.

SAFE is a new EU financial instrument that will support those member states that wish to invest in defense industrial production through common procurement, focusing on priority capabilities, the European Council noted.

The instrument will finance urgent and large-scale investments in the European defense technological and industrial base. "The aim is to boost production capacity, making sure defense equipment is available when needed, and to address existing capability gaps - ultimately strengthening the EU’s overall defense readiness," the European Council said, adding that SAFE will allow the EU to further support Ukraine by associating its defense industry to the instrument from the start.

The eligible activities financed through SAFE will relate to the first list of priority areas and will include ammunition and missiles; artillery systems, including deep precision strike capabilities; ground combat capabilities and their support systems; critical infrastructure protection; cyber; military mobility including counter-mobility; air and missile defense systems; maritime surface and underwater capabilities; drones and anti-drone systems; strategic enablers, such as, but not limited to, strategic airlift, air-to-air refueling and C4ISTAR systems as well as space assets and services; space assets protection; artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.