---
title: "EU Prepares at Least €10 Billion for Joint Defence Projects with Ukraine: Mechanism and Warsaw's Reaction"
description: "The European Commission has confirmed its intention to channel at least €10 billion of SAFE programme residuals into joint defence projects with Ukraine. Poland expressed surprise: Warsaw had expected to use these funds for its own needs."
date: 2026-09-18T13:22:02.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/eu-prepares-10-billion-euro-for-joint-defence-projects-with-ukraine
tags: [eu-defense, ukraine, safe-program, defense-funding, poland, european-commission]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# EU Prepares at Least €10 Billion for Joint Defence Projects with Ukraine: Mechanism and Warsaw's Reaction

![Ursula von der Leyen at an EU Commission press conference against the EU flag: statement on joint defence projects with Ukraine](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/19/es-gotovit-10-mlrd-evro-na-oboronnye-proekty-s-ukrainoy/es-gotovit-10-mlrd-evro-na-oboronnye-proekty-s-ukrainoy-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The European Commission has confirmed the availability of at least €10 billion of SAFE programme residuals for joint defence projects with Ukraine
- Ukraine will not receive a direct loan: the funds will flow through loans taken by EU member states, while Ukrainian companies participate in procurement and production
- The final volume depends on the resolution of the "Hungarian plan" and the final processing of the credit lines
- Poland publicly expressed disagreement: Warsaw had expected to direct the residuals to its own defence programmes and stated that no prior consultations had been held

The European Commission has confirmed its intention to channel at least 10 billion euros of unused funds from the SAFE defence programme into joint defence projects involving Ukraine. This was stated by European Commission spokesperson Thomas Rennie during a briefing in Brussels, who emphasised that this is a preliminary assessment of residual resources, but that even at the current stage the amount constitutes "significant financial support." According to him, it is precisely from these residual funds that new joint defence initiatives involving Ukrainian businesses are planned to be financed.

### Mechanism: not a direct loan, but participation in procurement

The key feature of the proposed model is that Ukraine will not receive these funds as a direct loan tranche. The work will follow the standard logic of the SAFE programme: credit obligations are assumed by the EU member states, while Ukrainian companies in the defence sector gain the right to participate in joint procurement and production projects. "Ukraine was fully involved from the very beginning. We are talking about loans that our member states are to take out, but Ukrainian companies are, of course, fully involved and can benefit from this," Rennie explained. Thus, the financial flow will run through European defence contracts, in which Ukrainian manufacturers will be able to act as co-contractors or suppliers.

### The Hungary factor and the final volume of funds

The final amount of available funds, according to the European Commission spokesperson, depends on the final processing of the last loans under the SAFE programme. In particular, the final volume will be affected by the resolution of the so-called "Hungarian plan" — the block of credit obligations that Budapest has not yet fully implemented. Rennie stressed that 10 billion euros is the "minimum amount we have at this point in time," and that the final volume may increase if all credit lines are successfully closed.

### Contradictory data

There is a noticeable discrepancy between the position of the European Commission and the reaction of several member states. On the one hand, Brussels insists that Ukraine "was fully involved from the very beginning" and that the decision to redirect the SAFE residuals is a logical continuation of the programme. On the other hand, Poland publicly expressed surprise at the statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about the intention to channel the unused funds into joint projects with Ukraine. According to a Polish diplomat in Brussels, Warsaw had expected to use these funds to finance its own defence programmes, and no prior consultations with the member states had been held on this decision. Thus, formally the decision was taken at the level of the European Commission without agreement with the national governments, which raises the question of the procedural legitimacy of reallocating funds that were originally earmarked for the defence needs of the EU members themselves.

### Context: what is SAFE and why the residuals arose

The SAFE programme (Security Action for Europe) was launched by the European Union as an instrument for the collective financing of defence procurement amid growing military threats in the region. The mechanism provides that member states take out loans on common terms for joint defence projects, which allows reducing individual costs and increasing the volume of procurement through economies of scale. Residuals of at least 10 billion euros indicate that some of the planned credit lines were not fully utilised by the member states within the established deadlines. The European Commission sees in this an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of defence initiatives by involving Ukrainian industrial potential, which, according to Brussels, is already integrated into the European defence supply chain.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Billions of euros for weapons: EU prepares large-scale defence projects with Ukraine](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/milyardi-evro-zbroyu-es-gotue-masshtabni-1789737401.html) - Основной источник: цитаты Тома Ренье, механизм SAFE, оценка в 10 млрд евро, роль венгерского плана
- [EU plans to channel remaining SAFE funds into joint defence projects with Ukraine](https://rubryka.com/ru/2026/09/18/zalyshok-koshtiv-safe/) - Подтверждает намерение Еврокомиссии и предварительный характер оценки
- [Poland surprised by von der Leyen's intention to spend SAFE residuals on projects for Ukraine — media](https://nv.ua/world/geopolitics/safe-neispolzovannye-sredstva-budut-napravleny-na-sovmestnye-proekty-po-oborone-ukrainy-50642036.html) - Реакция Польши, отсутствие предварительных консультаций, расчёт Варшавы на собственные оборонные программы
- [Poland opposes European Commission plans to direct SAFE funds to Ukraine](https://zn.ua/europe/polsha-vystupila-protiv-planov-evrokomissii-napravit-sredstva-safe-v-ukrainu.html) - Подтверждает позицию Польши как противника перераспределения остатков SAFE на украинские проекты

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Will Ukraine receive €10 billion as a direct loan?
**A:** No. According to European Commission spokesperson Thomas Rennie, the credit obligations are assumed by EU member states. Ukrainian companies in the defence sector gain the right to participate in joint procurement and production projects financed from these funds.

### Q: Why did Poland oppose the redirection of SAFE funds?
**A:** Warsaw had expected to use the SAFE programme residuals to finance its own defence programmes. A Polish diplomat in Brussels stated that no prior consultations with the member states had been held on this decision.

### Q: What does the final amount of available funds depend on?
**A:** According to the European Commission, the final volume is determined by the final processing of the last loans under SAFE, in particular the resolution of the situation with the "Hungarian plan." €10 billion is the minimum estimate at the current stage.

### Q: What is the SAFE programme?
**A:** SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is a mechanism for the collective financing of defence procurement in the EU. Member states take out loans on common terms for joint projects, which allows reducing individual costs and increasing the scale of procurement.