On Saturday, May 9, 2026, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas and Lithuanian Minister of Finance Kristupas Vaitiekūnas signed an agreement under the SAFE loan program (Security Action for Europe) with EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius and EU Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin. Lithuania will receive up to 6,375,487,000 EUR. The first advance payment will be made within the next three months.
Photo: Lithuanian Minister of National Defence
“The SAFE loan is first and foremost an investment in the security of Lithuania and all of Europe. This financial instrument will allow us to meet around half of Lithuania’s National Division development needs. We are fully prepared to implement the projects ‒ contracts for more than two-thirds of them have already been signed. The use of SAFE funds makes it possible to achieve the planned defense capability development goals on time, which are necessary to ensure peace in Lithuania,” said Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas.
“SAFE is an important tool, especially for the eastern European Union countries. It is an accelerator of our defense capabilities. These funds allow us not to plan decades ahead, but to act here and now. They provide a real basis for our goal of forming a full-fledged, modern division equipped with the most advanced weaponry by 2030 ‒ not in five years, but tomorrow ‒ to defend our border even more effectively against potential aggressors. This is also a very important step for Europe, as it strengthens defense industry cooperation and helps integrate national suppliers into European supply chains, building an autonomous, better-coordinated, stronger, and more effective European defense,” said Minister of Finance Kristupas Vaitiekūnas.
As the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence emphasizes, the loan under the SAFE instrument is an alternative source of financing, making it possible to carry out investments already planned in the national defense budget on more favorable terms and optimize debt-servicing costs. It allows Lithuania to diversify its sources of financing and benefit from the European Commission’s exceptionally favorable lending terms, thereby reducing overall financing costs over the long term.
It was added that the SAFE regulation provides for exceptionally favorable lending terms. The loan period is as long as 45 years, while the interest rate is the same as that applied to the European Commission itself. In addition, the SAFE loan has a 10-year grace period, meaning that Lithuania will initially pay only interest and will begin repaying the loan only after 10 years.
Each disbursement of the SAFE loan will reflect the market conditions prevailing at the time, which means each disbursement will have a different interest rate. This is natural, as the European Commission borrows at different maturities, while the loan period is long, at 45 years. Interest will be automatically renewed when the European Commission refinances maturing issues.
To make use of the preferential SAFE loans, member states first had to express interest in the instrument and indicate preliminary minimum and maximum loan amounts. After reviewing all member state applications, the European Commission allocated 6,375,487,000 EUR to Lithuania under SAFE, in accordance with its decision of January 26 this year.
The Ministry of Finance will periodically submit payment applications to the European Commission. These will contain information on achieved indicators that will allow Lithuania to draw down the loan in parts. The indicators in question are linked to project implementation, such as the announcement of a tender, signing of a contract, payment of an advance to the manufacturer, acceptance of part of the deliveries, making the final payment, acceptance of the entire delivery, and so on.
In the application prepared by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, the ministry indicated that it plans to allocate SAFE funds to the National Division, with a significant portion of the funds to be allocated to air defense. The loan funds will also enable the delivery of combat, support, and logistics systems, as well as the necessary stocks of ammunition, counter-mobility measures, and mines for the Baltic Defense Line, and will also support the maintenance and development of other capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
SAFE is a temporary European Commission instrument designed to strengthen defense loans, and it will remain in force until the end of 2030. The total value of SAFE is 150 billion EUR. The instrument enables EU member states to conduct joint defense procurement in priority areas, from ammunition and land capabilities to air defense, maritime capabilities, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The first country to sign an agreement with the European Commission was Poland, the largest beneficiary of the instrument (43,734,100,805 EUR), which took place the day before.
The next countries will be, in alphabetical order:
- Belgium (maximum of 8 340 027 698 EUR),
- Bulgary (3 261 700 000 EUR),
- Croatia (1 700 000 000 EUR),
- Cyprus (1 181 503 924 EUR),
- Czehia (2 060 000 000 EUR),
- Denmark (46 796 822 EUR),
- Estonia (2 343 897 000 EUR),
- Finland (1 000 000 000 EUR),
- France (16 216 720 524 EUR),
- Greece (787 669 283 EUR),
- Spain (1 000 000 000 EUR),
- Latvia (3 497 870 000 EUR),
- Portugal (5 841 179 332 EUR),
- Romania (16 680 055 394 EUR),
- Slovakia (2 316 674 361 EUR),
- Italy (14 900 000 000 EUR).
The decision on Hungary (16,216,720,524 EUR) has still not been announced.
Dziś podpisaliśmy na Litwie umowę #SAFE — 6,4 mld euro na obronność 🇱🇹🇪🇺
Today we signed the SAFE loan agreement in Lithuania — €6.4 billion for defence spending 🇱🇹🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/z4Cih1YGKa
— Piotr Serafin (@Piotr_Serafin) May 9, 2026
Europe is strong when united!
Today in Vilnius signing #SAFE loan agreement w Lithuania 🇱🇹.
6.375 bln € will help Lithuania develop strong defence capabalities, support 🇩🇪 brigade in Lithuania & defend Eastern Flank of the EU 🇪🇺.
Happy #EuropeDay! Our Unity & Strength Day!💪 pic.twitter.com/4no51Ii6Ff
— Andrius Kubilius (@KubiliusA) May 9, 2026
Who said the EU is slow? Today Lithuania signed the SAFE loan agreement: nearly €6.4 billion for defence.
A first advance of nearly €1 billion will be paid within three months. Funds will strengthen Lithuanian national division, air defence, artillery and ammunition stocks,…
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) May 9, 2026
🇱🇹🇪🇺 Lithuania has secured €6.4bn through the SAFE programme to strengthen national and European security. The funding will support air defence systems, CAESAR howitzers, ammunition, and the development of of Lithuania’s national division capabilities. pic.twitter.com/FrRW7uke0X
— Lithuanian MOD 🇱🇹 (@Lithuanian_MoD) May 11, 2026