Cyprus sends Safe programme loan agreement to Commission for approval

Cyprus is one of ten European Union member states which has now sent its loan agreement to receive funds under the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe (Safe) programme to the European Commission for approval, commission spokesman Thomas Reiner confirmed on Monday.

Alongside Cyprus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia have also sent their loan agreements to the commission for approval.

Reiner said that the commission will “now complete its internal procedures” with the aim of approving and signing the loan agreements “as soon as possible” and thereafter proceeding with the first disbursements of funding.

“Time is of the essence, and we will deliver on our commitments to all member states,” he said.

His comments come after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had said on Monday that his government is “ready to sign” its own loan agreement while speaking on the sidelines of the day’s European Political Community summit in Yerevan.

Poland has secured almost €44bn worth of funding as part of the scheme, with the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz saying on Monday that he expects for the agreement to be signed in Warsaw on Friday.

He said that once the agreement is signed, the Polish government will immediately receive an advance payment of €6.5bn.

Cyprus, meanwhile, secured over €1bn of funding through the programme, with Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas saying at the time that the funding would see the National Guard acquire military hardware to “cover [its] priorities” until 2030.

He added that the Safe programme came about “at a time when the European Union’s needs to cover shortcomings are significant”, and at a time “when the mobilisation of equipment programmes and joint procurement programmes is becoming urgent”.

“The €150bn which will be invested by member states in the joint procurement of high-tech weapons systems is expected to be the trigger for a new promising era for European defence, with the ultimate goal of autonomy, technological dominance, and resilience,” he said.

Cyprus’ investment plan had been approved by the Council of the EU in February, with President Nikos Christodoulides at the time describing the Safe programme as “an important financial tool”.

He added that the Council of the EU’s approval of the funding is “an indication of the correct work which was carried out in Cyprus”, before highlighting the fact that Cyprus is “among the first member states where the relevant amount was approved”.