SAFE: Where the EU27 stands on the Commission's €150 billion defence loans
Then last Wednesday, 18 EU countries formally expressed interest in taking out loans for bids amounting to €127 billion. More are expected to join, with capitals weighing bids or signalling support for joint purchases instead.
Here's how the EU27 stacks up so far.
between
Only eight countries have either shared details of their proposals with Euractiv or gone public with their plans, seeking altogether€99 billion and €108 billion.
France plans to borrow between €15 billion and €20 billion for weapons purchases, a source close to the file told Euractiv, amounting to up to 13% of the total fund. That's a big escalation from early July, when sources said Paris was only considering a small request due to the state of the country's finances.
Poland has submitted by far the largest proposal, with a €45 billion bid revealed by Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on X last week.
Italy is also among the biggest applicants for SAFE, eyeing €15 billion.
Other countries pursuing the loans include Lithuania, requesting between €5 billion and €8.76 billion; Estonia, which a government source said is considering loans of €3.6 billion; Bulgaria, between €3.2 billion and €3.5 billion; Greece, with €1.2 billion; and Spain €1 billion.
A source close to the file said last month that Romania was also considering asking for around €10 billion.
Belgium is likely to request between €7 billion to €11 billion according to a POLITICO report.
Discreet bidders
Beyond these eight, another group of countries has filed official requests but has not yet disclosed their borrowing plans. These includeand
Both Cyprus and Finland, meanwhile, are still working out how much to request, two different sources close to the file said.
Just a matter of time
The EU executive sent a letter last Friday encouraging the nine member states that haven't yet sent their requests to do so in the course of the summer, making clear that new requests are still welcome.
One political incentive: the programme allows countries to buy ammunition and missiles for Ukraine, which might sway the remaining nine countries to justify their participation in the programme back home, especially in capitals where defence is hard to sell.
At the end of June, Ireland's Defence Minister Simon Harris publicly expressed interest, though Dublin has yet to submit an official request.
On the fence
Some capitals remain flat-out undecided.is not considering a request for now, though it's keeping their options open until November.
Slovenia and Denmark are still studying the file, according to two different sources.
Shadow supporters
Not everyone wants a loan. But that doesn't mean they're sitting out., andare interested in joint procurement contracts, but do not plan to borrow from the SAFE programme, sources said.
The Netherlands and Malta are also steering clear of the loans.
Bids for Commission's defence loans programme 'well above' €150 billion
The Commission is still hoping more countries will join the programme before November
Aurélie Pugnet contributed reporting.
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