The European Commission has approved a loan agreement for Poland under the SAFE program, making Poland the first EU member state to receive such financing.
According to Defence24, the agreement will be signed in Warsaw on Friday, May 8, 2026. It will be formally endorsed by European Commissioners Piotr Serafin and Andrius Kubilius, along with Poland’s Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański.
After Warsaw, EU representatives will travel to Vilnius to sign a similar agreement with Lithuania.
“The European Commission has approved our SAFE loan agreement as the first! We are reinforcing our position as a security leader on the eastern flank. We are also the largest beneficiary of the program. SAFE means nearly 190 billion zlotys for our army and defense industry,” Poland’s Minister of Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, stated.
Poland has received the largest share of the program – €43.7 billion out of a total fund of €150 billion.
After the agreement is signed, the country is likely to become the first to receive an advance payment of around €6.5 billion as early as May 2026.
The government plans to allocate the funds to the Tarcza Wschód program, as well as to the development of counter-drone systems, air defense, artillery, and military infrastructure.
According to official data, 89% of the funds are expected to remain within Poland’s economy and defense industry. At present, 19 other EU countries are still awaiting the signing of SAFE agreements.
Militarnyi previously reported that Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a law on taking out a loan under the European SAFE program. Nawrocki emphasized that this debt would have to be repaid by today’s 18-year-olds throughout their entire professional lives.
European SAFE Initiative
The SAFE (Support to Accelerate Forces in Europe) program is a special financial instrument of the European Union designed to rapidly strengthen the defense capabilities of member states.
The main aim of the program is to provide preferential loans and grants for the procurement of weapons and the development of military infrastructure.
SAFE was developed in response to the changing security landscape in Europe, allowing countries to procure modern equipment without placing an immediate burden on national budgets.
The program provides joint procurement and the standardization of weapons within the EU to improve interoperability between allied armed forces.
