MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. European countries may finance purchases of part of weapons and combat vehicles from the United States through the EU SAFE military loans program, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
"The United States can be part of the SAFE program already now because, according to the program’s rules, 65% of combat vehicles and spare parts are to be manufactures in Europe, and 35% - outside it, including in the United States," he told a news conference that was aired by the TVP Infor television channel.
He also expressed interest in Turkey’s participation as a SAFE program beneficiary. Apart from that, he said that he hopes that SAFE will eventually offer not only low-cost loans, but also subsidies for weapons procurements.
On September 9, 2025, the European Commission announced a decision to allocate low-interest loans from the EU SAFE militarization fund, which amounts to 150 billion euros. Poland will receive almost a third of these funds, or 43.7 billion euros.
Last year, the European Union took serious steps to reinforce its countries’ armies and militarize Europe’s economy. In March, the emergency summit approved the 800-billion-euro rearmament plan ReArm EU, providing for joint arms purchases and the use of funds from the program for depressed regions. Later, the European Council established the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund as part of the long-term militarization program through 2030. The June NATO summit in The Hague decided to increase defense spending in EU countries up to 5% of GDP by 2034.