In 2025, the European Commission presented a plan to strengthen the defence of EU member states. Its goal is to significantly enhance Europe’s collective defence capability by 2030 by increasing funding, stimulating the European defence industry, improving coordination of procurement, enhancing weapons interoperability, and building a credible deterrence capacity amid growing geopolitical tensions, particularly against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
As part of this strategy, the EU created the SAFE instrument — a programme that provides long-term loans on favourable terms to states willing to invest in the EU’s defence industrial base through joint procurement.
The total volume of SAFE resources is up to €150 billion.
How is Ukraine involved in this mechanism, and can Ukraine expect the integration of its defence industry into the European ecosystem?
The aim of SAFE
SAFE is designed to accelerate and scale up investments in Europe’s critical defence capabilities. In particular, the programme aims to close gaps in production capacity, including the ability to manufacture ammunition, weapons, air defence systems, as well as naval, land, air, cyber, and other types of defence products.
Key conditions: procurement must be carried out by at least two states (or by a state together with a partner country, such as Ukraine) in order to ensure economies of scale, standardization, and interoperability.
In light of urgent needs, procurement by a single state is allowed during a transitional period.
How Ukraine can participate in SAFE
According to the documents, partner countries — including Ukraine — can be involved in joint procurement on equal terms with EU member states.
At the same time, SAFE loans are not provided directly to Ukraine, but to EU member states that assume the obligations. Ukraine may participate as a supplier of defence products or as a partner in projects.
In 2025, 19 EU member states developed and submitted so-called “national investment plans” for participation in SAFE, including countries that have already expressed readiness to implement joint projects with Ukraine.
Participation in the EU mechanism will enable Ukrainian companies to become official suppliers under joint contracts with the European Union, while EU member states will be able to procure products from Ukraine’s defence industry using SAFE funds.
Ukraine has already offered its capabilities in the production of ammunition, FPV drones, long-range strike drones, and, in particular, various types of missiles.
In effect, SAFE has become the first EU instrument to create a formal framework for the economic integration of Ukraine’s defence industry into the European defence system.
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SAFE is a major EU investment step that creates a new opportunity for Ukraine: not just to receive military assistance, but to become part of the European defence industrial system.
SAFE is a chance for Europe and Ukraine to jointly strengthen defence readiness in response to new challenges.