European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier called on Italy, on Tuesday 28 July, to accelerate its procedure concerning the loan requested under the SAFE instrument.
Earlier in the day, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had explained that the government had “reserved” the right to take out a loan from SAFE, worth €14.9 billion, and that it would decide by the end of the year on the amount actually borrowed, if any. This budget was approved by the EU.
As regards the Italian plan and “waiting until December to sign the loan agreement, this timing does not suit us. We need to act much more quickly, because even if there is a very slight possibility that Italy will receive less than €14.9 billion, a legal deadline laid down in the regulation requires the Commission to relaunch a new call for proposals and reallocate the (available) funds by the end of the year. So we need much more than a few days in December”, Mr Regnier explained to the media.
The remaining funds would be reallocated to other Member States likely to take out additional loans. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also announced, during her visit to Kyiv on 15 July, that the funds available under SAFE, “to the amount of €10 billion”, could be used for the placement of long-term orders in the fields of drones and missiles for Ukraine (see EUROPE 13910/1).
Thus, according to Thomas Regnier, there is “no time to lose. What matters now is signing the loan agreement in order to release the funds needed to launch the project”, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)