Kubilius: Commission preparing a new SAFE round worth around €21 billion for joint projects with Ukraine

The European Commission is preparing a new funding round through the SAFE instrument, worth approximately 21 billion euros, which it hopes to direct toward joint defense projects with Ukraine. Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius presented the intention on Monday, October 26, 2026, in Paris, after the meeting of defense ministers in the E5 format. He said that a new call could be announced soon and mentioned the Freyja antiballistic project among the initiatives under consideration. The statement concerns the use of the capacity remaining in the loan program, without constituting a decision to grant the amount to Ukraine.

In brief

1. Kubilius estimates the resources remaining available after the first SAFE round at approximately 21 billion euros. A new call would use the existing ceiling of 150 billion euros, without increasing it.

2. The Commission hopes that the funding will support joint projects with Ukraine, including Freyja. The intervention in Paris does not establish an amount for this project, selected beneficiaries, or a delivery deadline for the system.

3. SAFE provides repayable loans to member states. Ukraine may participate in joint procurement, and its industry may supply equipment under the conditions of the regulation.

4. The Commission may publish a new call for expressions of interest by December 31, 2026, if resources remain available. The Council’s implementing decisions must be adopted by June 30, 2027; these are not deadlines for equipment delivery.

5. The Commissioner calls for accelerated production and deliveries for Ukraine. His warning about delays until 2028–2029 appears in the discussion of the Ukraine Support Loan, a mechanism separate from SAFE.

Kubilius informally described the future stage as “SAFE 2.0” and linked it to the funds remaining from the first call. The amount of approximately 21 billion euros is the figure indicated by the commissioner at the press conference, while the destination toward projects with Ukraine is expressed as the Commission’s intention. He did not present a breakdown by countries or projects, nor a precise date for opening the call. The novelty of the intervention is the quantification of the resources and the indication of an upcoming allocation stage, not the creation of a new financial instrument.

SAFE, the acronym for Security Action for Europe, was established by the regulation adopted by the EU Council on May 27, 2025. The instrument may provide up to 150 billion euros in loans to member states, which must repay them. The Union raises the financing on the capital markets, while applicant countries submit defense investment plans. Therefore, the capacity available under SAFE is not a reserve of grants that the Commission can transfer directly to Ukraine or to companies.

The regulation allows a new call for expressions of interest by December 31, 2026, if, after the financing decisions, amounts remain available. Applications and plans are assessed by the Commission, which proposes the implementing decisions to the Council. These must be adopted by June 30, 2027, after which the loan agreements and the application of payment conditions follow. The two dates define the financing procedure; they do not confirm the opening of a call and do not establish when equipment must be manufactured or delivered.

Ukraine’s participation is possible through joint procurement: the definition in the regulation requires at least one member state benefiting from the loan and another member state, an EFTA state that is part of the European Economic Area, or Ukraine. Ukrainian industry may participate under the eligibility conditions concerning companies, infrastructure, and components used. For Romania, as for the other member states, access to any redistributed resources would depend on the application, the proposed plan, and the necessary approvals; the announcement does not establish a new national allocation.

Industrial cooperation with Ukraine had already been presented by Ursula von der Leyen in the State of the Union address on September 16, 2026. The Commission President had proposed an affordable and modular missile defense system centered on Freyja, and the use of remaining SAFE resources for joint projects with Ukrainian companies. Kubilius’s intervention reiterates this direction, without announcing a contract for Freyja or the value of the support dedicated to it. Nor can the estimate of 21 billion euros be presented as the budget for the antiballistic system.

Before the announcement about SAFE, the commissioner discussed the implementation of the defense component of the Ukraine Support Loan, worth 60 billion euros for two years. He insisted that the funding must be converted into urgent deliveries and warned of delays until 2028 or 2029. This passage concerns the need to increase production and execute contracts on time, without setting a timetable for the future SAFE call.

The Ukraine Support Loan has a distinct ceiling of 90 billion euros for 2026–2027, with 30 billion for budgetary support and 60 billion for defense. Within its framework, the Commission announced on September 18 a payment of 3.3 billion euros for drones and missiles. This payment is not an expenditure from the potential new SAFE round. Separately, in Paris, Kubilius said that options for supporting the space services needed by Ukraine were being examined, without assigning them a budget in the new call.

The E5 meeting brought together the defense ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, alongside representatives of the EU and NATO. Kubilius’s statements indicate the direction pursued by the Commission, while actual funding through SAFE must go through European procedures. For states and industry, the next reference point is the official call, which must specify the amount available and the conditions of the new stage.