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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
The European Commission has allocated Poland €43.7 billion to support defence spending under the EU’s new Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme.
That will make Poland by far the biggest beneficiary of the fund, which is offering a total of €150 billion in EU-backed loans. The next largest amounts have been allocated to Romania (€16.7 billion), France and Hungary (both €16.2 billion).
This is how Europe gets serious about security 👇
With SAFE, our Security and Defence Action for Europe.
✅ 19 EU countries requested its activation 🇧🇪🇧🇬🇨🇿🇩🇰🇪🇪🇬🇷🇪🇸🇫🇷🇭🇷🇮🇹🇨🇾🇱🇻🇱🇹🇭🇺🇵🇱🇵🇹🇷🇴🇸🇰🇫🇮
✅ All €150 billion subscribed
✅ Firm support for 🇺🇦Europe is delivering on defence ↓
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) September 9, 2025
The news was welcomed by Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who described it as “a great success for Poland and a guarantee of further investment in security and the development of our defence industry”.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, meanwhile, hailed the fact that Poland got “by far the most of all EU countries”, with a “larger share than France, Italy and Spain combined”.
Now that Poland’s provisional allocation has been decided by the European Commission, the country must submit a specific loan application by November. The EU’s defence commission, Andrius Kubilius, said today that he hopes to sign the first loan agreements in the first quarter of next year.
43 miliardy 700 milionów euro (!) z europejskiego funduszu na rzecz bezpieczeństwa SAFE dla Polski. Zdecydowanie najwięcej ze wszystkich państw UE! To tanie pożyczki rozłożone na 45 lat. Polski udział większy niż Francji, Włoch i Hiszpanii razem wziętych. Robimy, nie gadamy!
— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) September 9, 2025
In May this year, EU member states approved the establishment of the SAFE financial instrument, which will provide up to €150 billion in loans to member states for investment in defence.
The programme takes advantage of the EU’s strong credit rating to secure “competitively priced” and “long-duration” loans, notes the European Commission. Repayments will be spread out until 2070.
Nineteen of the bloc’s 27 members applied for access to the programme, with 13 of the applications also taking advantage of the possibility to help Ukraine by including joint procurement plans.
Poland’s priority will be “strengthening the key capabilities of the Polish armed forces, [including] air and missile defence, artillery systems, ammunition purchases, drones, and anti-drone systems”, said Kosiniak-Kamysz today. The loans “will also support critical infrastructure, military mobility and cyberspace”.
The EU’s budget commissioner, Piotr Serafin, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP), that one of the projects financed through SAFE will be Poland’s East Shield programme, intended to strengthen its defences around the borders with Russia and Belarus.
Poland has embarked on a huge defence spending spree in recent years, in particular since Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Its defence budget has risen to an estimated 4.5% of GDP this year – by far the highest relative level in NATO – and is set to reach 4.8% in 2026.
During a recent visit to Poland, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, thanked the country for helping protect the EU and NATO’s eastern flank from threats, in particular the “predator” Vladimir Putin.
Poland's defence spending, at 4.5% of GDP, is the highest in @NATO this year, new data from the alliance confirm.
In addition, Warsaw devotes 54.4% of its defence budget to equipment, which is also the largest figure in NATO https://t.co/mDbnsoABQB
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 2, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Marek Borawcki/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
