SAFE II on the agenda in the European Union. The government's representative reveals the details
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, asked in the PAP Studio about a possible SAFE II, which is a continuation of the program supporting defense investments of member states, replied that preliminary talks on this topic are taking place in EU institutions. As she noted, some countries, especially southern Europe, did not see the need to participate in this program in August 2025, claiming that the issue of armaments “does not concern them.”
— After the war in the Middle East broke out, the same countries returned to the European Commission, knocking and asking whether there will be SAFE II, or whether there is any money left from SAFE, because they would be happy to lend it, she emphasized. She pointed to Cyprus as an example, which she noted had become part of the tensions of the conflict in the Middle East.
SAFE II on the EU wallpaper
Sobkowiak-Czarnecka emphasized, however, that the current discussion on SAFE II is preliminary. In her opinion, priority is given to negotiations regarding the new European Union budget.
What are the details of the initial discussions about SAFE II?
When does Poland plan to spend money from the current SAFE program?
Which domestic companies should benefit from the SAFE program?
Are other countries interested in the SAFE II program?
— The new budget will appear in 2028, i.e. in two years. So SAFE is such a bridge and we will actually spend this money from SAFE until 2028. Today we are also focusing on negotiation efforts to ensure that as much money as possible for defense is in the EU budget after 2028 – said the government plenipotentiary for SAFE.
The leader of the delegation of MEPs from the Security and Defense Committee, Nicolás Pascual de la Parte from the EPP group, in mid-February, in a conversation with journalists in the Polish Sejm, emphasized that the next version of the SAFE program is already being considered at the EU forum. He added that negotiations on the new EU multiannual financial framework, which will cover the period from 2027 to 2034, will also start in the coming months.
According to Pascaul, SAFE II would be embedded within the future Competitiveness Fund, with a clear security component and funds earmarked for military mobility.
SAFE. What do we know about the program?
On Friday, the government adopted a resolution on the Armed Poland Program, which authorizes the ministers of defense and finance to sign an agreement regarding the EU SAFE program. According to the resolution, the loan will be repaid from funds not included in the minimum limit for defense spending. This is a response to the decision of President Karol Nawrocki on Thursday, who announced that he would not sign the government act implementing the EU SAFE mechanism.
SAFE is a loan for defense purposes worth EUR 150 billion. The largest beneficiary of the program would be Poland, which could receive EUR 43.7 billion from it. According to the government's declaration, 89 percent these funds would go to Polish arms companies.
