Eighteen countries draw on EU's €150 billion SAFE defence loans scheme
This is three fewer than the "very conservative evaluation" that EU defence chief Andrius Kubilius gave Euractiv in an interview last week in which he claimed 20 would join the scheme, which is budgeted at €150 billion.
Capitals had until midnight on Tuesday to express interest and only nine countries had sent their requests by midday. However, late joiners could still be considered, as the Tuesday milestone only marked an 'initial soft deadline', according to the Commission.
The EU executive feared capitals would not use up all the money available, as the most recent estimates hovered between €75 billion and €100 billion. Earlier this month, EU defence and finance chiefs Andrius Kubilius and Valdis Dombrovskis sent a letter urging capitals to make use of the loans available.
The programme's remaining €23 billion could be used up by other countries that have not yet expressed interest. Otherwise, capitals could issue new projects next year to use the remaining funds.
Countries have until November to submit their proposals to Brussels breaking down what exactly they will do with the loans.
Third countries could also join in to access procurement contracts, granted they have signed a security and defence partnership with Brussels. The United Kingdom is the most advanced country in the process, having signed a Security and Defence Partnership in May.
But EU ambassadors were not planning on discussing how London could take part in SAFE in their last meeting on Wednesday, which means London will have to wait until September when the next session resumes. This would give the United Kingdom only two months before the November deadline.
(jp)
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