Speaking on the latest episode of the “Szczyt Europy” (“Summit of Europe”) podcast, Kubilius said the EU’s new SAFE fund is a key response to the growing threat. The program offers low-interest loans with repayment stretching to 2070 and a 10-year grace period.
“We had only one limit, EUR 150 billion,” Kubilius told the hosts, Polish Radio’s Beata Płomecka and TVN’s Maciej Sokołowski. “Nineteen member states requested loans, and demand exceeded the available pool. Poland asked for the largest amount.”
He said Poland has “a very clear strategy” for developing military capabilities, with investment plans approved but classified. “Now we need to finalize the formalities, and then we hope the money will reach governments, including the Polish government, at the end of March or the beginning of April,” he added.
Kubilius said SAFE was created at a critical moment, as Europe must ramp up arms production and defense spending. He warned that Russia remains a major danger.
“Russia currently spends as much as 85% more on military needs than all EU member states combined,” he said. “We must be ready to defend ourselves, especially when military intelligence services warn that Russia could be ready to test Article Five—or, more simply, to launch aggressive war against neighboring countries such as the Baltic states or Poland.”
Investing in European defense capabilities, he said, means buying weapons that are needed now and produced across Europe and beyond. “Sometimes they are made in the United States, and sometimes we can obtain weapons faster, for example, from South Korea,” Kubilius said. “Not everything is produced at the national level.”
He stressed that strengthening Europe’s defenses must go hand in hand with increased military support for Ukraine, which he said remains central to Europe’s own security.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio