Strengthening Defense: Croatia Interested in 1.8 Billion Euros from SAFE Fund

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced at a government session on Wednesday that Croatia has expressed initial interest in participating in the SAFE mechanism for using a loan for defense investments, including a series of weapons procurement projects and the production of small drones, in the amount of 1.8 billion euros.

In May, the European Union established a new instrument "Security Action for Europe" (SAFE), worth 150 billion euros, to strengthen defense capabilities. Member States can submit initial national plans within six months in order to use favorable loans, which Croatia did yesterday.

“We know that due to the changed global security situation, the topic of defense investments is a major topic. We, as the Government, have formed an interdepartmental committee for the development and strengthening of defense capabilities and the defense industry, we held a meeting yesterday and, in accordance with the rules of the new instrument at the EU level, submitted an initial expression of interest for the use of a loan for investments in defense capabilities in the amount of 1.8 billion euros,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at the session.

“These are large allocations that will enable us to obtain a favorable loan over the next year, and thus relieve our financing burden, since this is the best possible borrowing because the EU is borrowing again as a subject,” he added.

“With this, we will invest in the most modern weapons, which we would realize in partnership with a number of European countries, and it is especially important that we have a project to produce small drones, FPV drones, which would be developed by our company,” he said. He stressed that Croatia is using all possibilities to achieve the goal of allocating for defense by 2035.

At the government session it was said that the projects highlighted in the expressed interest in using this loan were: the Leopard 2 A8 battle tank, the Caesar 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer, the Mistral short-range and very short-range air defense systems, 6x6 and 8x8 heavy cargo motor vehicles, 155-millimeter ammunition, the Hammer modular long-range ammunition, 120-millimeter ammunition for the Leopard 2 A8 tank, and the production of FPV drones.

“The project for the production of small FPV drones with an estimated value of 100 million euros, in which the Republic of Croatia has developed technological excellence, is an opportunity to assume the role of a leading nation, with part of the loan being used for the procurement and donation of these drones to Ukraine,” said Defense Minister Ivan Anušić.

Source: HRT