site.btaDefence Minister: No SAFE Loan Possible Without Parliamentary Approval for EUR 3.26 Billion Agreement

A loan under the SAFE agreement between the government and the European Commission (EC) cannot be concluded unless Parliament votes to authorize a loan agreement for EUR 3.26 billion, outgoing Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said during a hearing on current issues in the Parliamentary Defence Committee. He was responding to a question from Hristo Gadzhev, GERB–UDF MP, about what comes next after the EC announced last week that it had approved the Bulgarian Government’s programme under SAFE. 

Adopted by the Council of the European Union on the 27th of May 2025, SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is the EU’s new financial instrument designed to provide financial support to Member States to speed up defence readiness by allowing urgent and major investments in support of the European defence industry, with a focus on closing critical capability gaps.

Last year, the Government had two key tasks in the field of defence - the first was securing a derogation from the Stability Pact clause, and the second was the SAFE mechanism, Zapryanov said. Bulgaria is among the first eight countries for which there is an actual decision and whose plans have been approved in terms of content.

In January, the Commission launched the process of submitting to the Council a proposal for decisions to grant financial assistance under the SAFE mechanism to the Member States. On January 15, the Commission approved Bulgaria’s national plan, and by February 13 the Council is expected to adopt the individual decisions approving the financial parameters for the first group of countries, said Adelina Nikolova, Deputy Minister of Defence. In parallel, the loan agreement and an operational agreement will be presented to the countries for signature. The Commission expects the loan agreement for the first group of countries to be signed by March 19, and in April it will be possible to provide advance financing of 15%, she added. According to her, under an extended budget there is a risk to the signing of the loan agreement.

At the end of May, the EC will inform the European Parliament of the final results of the activation of the SAFE project for the Member States, said Lt. Gen. Krasimir Kanev, Deputy Chief of Defence. The projects worked on over the past eight months include the acquisition of 3D radars; surface-to-air missile systems to ensure the country’s air defence; development of artillery support capabilities through the acquisition of 155-millimetre howitzers; acquisition of multiple-launch rocket systems with enhanced mobility; acquisition of systems for the detection of and countering unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare systems; acquisition of anti-ship missiles, among others, he said. We are now at a stage where more concrete expenditures must begin to implement these projects after the operational agreement is signed, Lt. Gen. Kanev added.