European Commission Rejects Baltics' €500 Million Anti-Drone Request
The Commission said it cannot grant the extra funds and urged the Baltic states to use low-interest EU loans instead.
- On Thursday, the European Commission released €21.3 billion in unspent funding under the Security Action for Europe instrument, hoping to steer these funds toward joint defense projects with Ukraine.
- Launched last year with €150 billion, the SAFE instrument provides favorable defense loans, though Italy, Hungary, and France borrowed far less than anticipated, prioritizing national defense industries instead.
- The European Commission rejected a request from Baltic defense ministers for €500 million in additional drone defense support, with Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius suggesting they use remaining SAFE funds instead.
- Kubilius is urging member states to deepen cooperation with Ukraine through joint ventures for missile defense and ammunition, as new loans now mandate multi-country procurement requirements.
- There is no guarantee states will involve Ukraine, as member states prefer spending budgets on national players; the second round of funding calls runs until 13 November.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Brussels hopes its defence loans may help plug Ukraine’s budget hole
The European Commission has reopened €21.3bn in unspent SAFE defence loans, urging EU governments to use them for joint projects with Ukraine, which faces a €70bn budget gap. Brussels cannot force them, but hopes the joint procurement rules will steer some of the money to Kyiv.
Brussels rejected the request of the Baltic countries for Euro500 million to fight drones, reported EU Defence Commissioner Andrews Kubilius." (European-IF) The Commission replied that it could not offer the additional funding requested by the Baltic countries," said Kubilius to the Lithuanian national television and radio portal LRT. "At present one option is to use additional funding under SAFE.
The European Commission today called on EU member states to apply for €21.3 billion in funding under the second round of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, aimed at strengthening defence capacities and supporting Ukraine. According to a statement, the second call is open to all member states. The EC will announce the preliminary allocations of the funds within two weeks of receiving the targeted amounts from each country, after th…
New funding forms part of bloc's broader plan to boost its military readiness
After the European Commission (EC) decided not to allocate an additional €500 million for anti-drone defense requested by the Baltic states, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius called Brussels' decision disappointing and said he was surprised by "a lack of understanding or insufficient solidarity."
The budget of the European Union did not contain any funds, as the current budget period was coming to an end.
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