29/05/26 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 29 May, the European Commission paid Poland an instalment of €6.6 billion under the SAFE loan programme for Member States, which provides loans to Member States to help them increase their military spending. This pre-financing payment for the Polish defence plan, the first disbursement to one of 19 participating EU countries, amounts to 15% of the total allocation for this Member State, which stands at €43.73 billion, making it the highest national allocation (see EUROPE 13705/18). “This pre-financing will help Poland accelerate priority defence investments, strengthen resilience, and modernise its military capabilities in line with shared European goals”, the Commission said in a press release. At this stage, five States participating in the SAFE instrument - Belgium, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania - have signed a loan agreement with the EU institution, according to Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier. (MB)