The EU countries on Tuesday formally approved a new loan program of 150 billion euros to help replace Russia and worry about the reliability of the United States, according to the Polish presidency of the block.
Brussels proposed the safe loan scheme, backed by the EU central budget, in March, since the block hastened to boost its defenses.
After the Member States earlier this month, the text received the final approval at a meeting of European ministers in Brussels, with 26 countries voting and an abstention, said the presidency.
The EU countries had watered extensively about what money could be spent and how countries outside the block could access the funds.
In the end, the agreement adhered to the original proposal, allowing 35 percent of the value of weapons to come from manufacturers beyond the block and Ukraine.
The Minister of France in Europe, Benjamin Haddad, called Safe “a great step forward” that states “a very clear principle of European preference to support our industries, reduce our dependencies, even in the United States and invest in the strategic autonomy of Europe.”
“But it’s just one step, and we’ll have to go further,” Haddad told journalists in Brussels.
The loan program is part of a package of measures, including loosening the budget rules that Brussels, according to which it could unlock 800 billion euros of defense expenditure.
Safe’s approval occurred after the EU and the United Kingdom agreed a new defense association as part of a “reset” after Brexit.
London would still need to reach a separate agreement with the EU if you want to completely open the new scheme to the British defense industry.
