Poland says EU defense loan needed ‘right now’ amid security concerns

Poland said Thursday that it urgently needs to accelerate defense procurement due to regional security threats as Warsaw prepares to sign a €43.7 billion (nearly $47.2 billion) loan agreement under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program.

“The enemy is just next door. There’s a war going on in Ukraine just next to the Polish border,” Poland’s Deputy State Secretary for EU Affairs Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka told TVP World.

She said the SAFE mechanism would allow Warsaw to quickly respond to immediate defense needs and described it as a major shift in European defense financing.

“For the first time ever, the EU is investing such money in defense capabilities,” she said.

Poland is expected to become the first country to sign a loan agreement under the SAFE program, with EU Commissioners Piotr Serafin and Andrius Kubilius set to attend the signing ceremony in Warsaw.

The deal would give Poland access to the largest national allocation under the EU’s €150 billion (nearly $162 billion) defense financing scheme.

Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said the mechanism allows repayment periods of up to 45 years, with only interest payments required during the first decade.

“We can invest, get the capabilities, and not focus on paying back money,” she said.

She added that nearly 90 percent of the funding is expected to go to Polish companies, while imports would be limited to defense systems not produced domestically.

“SAFE is not only investing in defense and security,” she said.

She added that the mechanism also aims to support the domestic economy.

Sobkowiak-Czarnecka further said Warsaw aims to expand EU-wide procurement from Polish defense firms, including drones, missiles and counter-drone systems.