9 EU states express interest in defence loans

Nine European Union countries have officially applied for loans under a new mechanism designed to finance arms purchases, European Commission spokesman Thomas Renier said at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday. 

According to Renier, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Hungary and Lithuania have expressed interest in the loans. He noted that the European Commission expects the total number of countries submitting applications to reach around twenty.

The European Commission presented its defence strategy, called “ReArm Europe,” on March 19. Subsequently, in response to criticism from some member states, it was renamed “Readiness 2030.” The initiative plans to raise about 800 billion euros over four years.

Earlier, EU countries agreed to create a financial instrument called Security Action for Europe (SAFE), which is supposed to raise 150 billion euros to boost arms production. Plus, about 650 billion euros should come from the national budgets of EU countries.

Brussels also stated that it would not focus on violations of financial discipline by EU member states, including significant increases in budget deficits caused by large-scale military spending.