2025-12-01 19:53
publication
2025-12-01 19:53
The government's plenipotentiary for the SAFE program, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, said on Monday that there is a question mark whether it will be possible to establish cooperation between EU member states in the field of defense and innovation under this loan instrument.
The European Commission announced on Monday that it had received applications from all 19 member states that take part in the SAFE program. Poland submitted applications for co-financing of 139 projects worth EUR 43.7 billion. It will be the biggest beneficiary of this loan program.
– Poland is a special beneficiary because we are a frontline country – said Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. She emphasized that one of the reasons for establishing SAFE is for cooperation between member states in the defense industry to become operational, which is why she focuses on joint procurement between the countries.
The government plenipotentiary reminded that by May 2026, member states will be able to independently sign procurement contracts under SAFE. After this date, however, they will have to find partners in other capitals. – Here I question whether it will actually result in strong cooperation and joint projects, as well as joint innovations, because as a practitioner, someone who has negotiated with other Member States projects in which Poland will invest, I now see that this first step has already been taken, but it is too early to say whether cooperation in the field of innovation will bring results now – she said at an expert conference at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the EU entitled “Unlocking Europe's defense potential.”
According to Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, it is impossible to directly apply cooperation patterns from other industries within the EU internal market to the defense industries. – The military market is very specific. Different prices apply in different Member States. If an industry produces for its own country, it offers a different price than for other Member States. There are some differences in how armies operate. Therefore, there are many issues that we need to work on to efficiently implement the idea of cooperation – emphasized the representative who connected with the participants of the online conference.
She added that today all of Europe sees threats related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. – But we, as Poland, believe that this is still not enough. We must continue to work on issues of financing defense projects and industrial development. This should also be included in the new EU budget, and of course I know that not everyone in the EU shares this opinion, said Sobkowiak-Czarnecka.
– There are parts of Europe where defense is very important, but there are also member states where defense is not a priority – she argued. – That is why we call the SAFE program a success of the Polish Presidency, because we convinced other member states to the Polish point of view – she added.
The SAFE Instrument is a program that aims to strengthen the defense of EU Member States; provides for a total of EUR 150 billion of support – including: in the form of low-interest loans – primarily for the purchase of military equipment, especially those produced in Europe. In principle, the program will reward projects carried out jointly by two or more countries, although it will also be possible to finance purchases for only one country if the contract for a given equipment is signed by the end of May next year.
From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)
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