EU Confirms Japan Has Applied to Join the €150 Billion SAFE Defence Loan Programme: Bid Moves to Security Policy Assessment
The European Commission has confirmed that Japan has applied to participate in the European Union's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) joint defence financing programme. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said Japan's request would now move into the EU's security policy assessment process: 'As with South Korea and Turkey, we will examine this request as the next step.' He noted that the national defence plans submitted by the 19 member states seeking SAFE funding are currently under evaluation amid what he described as 'overwhelming demand.'
SAFE is a defence loan instrument capped at €150 billion that entered into force in May 2025; the loans themselves go only to EU member states. Loan agreements for all 19 participating member states have been approved, 16 have been signed, and 11 states have received almost €13.5 billion in pre-financing; Poland holds the largest share, at €43.7 billion. The €21.3 billion left uncommitted was opened to a second round of applications on October 29, again for member states only.
Third countries cannot borrow from SAFE directly. They must negotiate a separate agreement with the EU to take part in joint procurements among member states, with at least 65 percent of a defence product's value sourced from within Europe and the third-country share capped at 35 percent. Japan, which has a security and defence partnership with the EU, is eligible to negotiate; its bid now sits in the assessment and negotiation stage, with no conclusion expected this year. South Korea's and Turkey's bids are likewise pending; Canada completed negotiations and joined earlier, while talks with the United Kingdom ended without agreement.
(Source: European Commission)
Source: European Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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