Lithuania is seeking up to €8 billion in loans from the European Union’s new defence financing programme to strengthen its military and border protection, President Gitanas Nausėda said Monday.
The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, backed by the EU budget, makes €150 billion in loans available to member states for defence investments.
“The threats we face are real: hostile combat drones, hybrid attacks, and the constant pressure of illegal migration on our borders,” Nausėda told reporters in Medininkai, a village on Lithuania’s border with Belarus. “The SAFE instrument provides us with the means to respond.”
Nausėda said €7 billion would go toward building and equipping a new Lithuanian military division, while €1 billion would be used to bolster the border with Russia and Belarus through the planned Baltic Defence Line.\
The Finance Ministry earlier told BNS that Lithuania’s application set preliminary loan requests at a minimum of €5 billion and a maximum of €8.76 billion.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed Monday that 18 other member states have applied for SAFE loans.
“I’m glad to say that the instrument has been fully subscribed, all €150 billion,” she said at a joint news conference with Nausėda. “And I was glad to hear that the three Baltic states and Poland are already preparing joint procurement for the Eastern Shield initiative.”
Von der Leyen also reiterated that under the EU’s next long-term budget, member states bordering Russia and Belarus will receive additional funding.
“Looking at the next long-term European budget, we have proposed to triple investment in migration and border protection, so a strong focus on that topic,” she said.
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