Brussels: The European Commission has started paying out its SAFE loans, sending Croatia a first disbursement of €255 million on 10 July 2026 under the €150 billion Security Action for Europe instrument. The transfer makes Zagreb one of the first capitals to draw cash from the bloc’s flagship defence-financing scheme, which offers member states long-maturity, competitively priced credit to rebuild military stocks.

SAFE lets governments borrow jointly against the EU budget and channel the money into priority capabilities such as air defence, drones, ammunition and military mobility. Nineteen member states asked for loans, and between 11 February and 10 April 2026 the Council green-lit national spending plans for eighteen of them.

Andrius Kubilius, the Commissioner for Defence and Space, has framed each payout as proof that the instrument is moving from paper to hardware. He called SAFE a “big step forward for our defence readiness” and welcomed the earlier Polish tranche in blunt terms.

“Today’s €6.6 billion pre-financing for Poland under SAFE is a concrete step forward for our common security. It will help deliver investments faster and strengthen Europe’s readiness,” Kubilius said.

Poland led the way on 29 May 2026, receiving €6.6 billion, or 15% of its €43.7 billion allocation, the largest single national envelope in the programme. Smaller economies have followed as loan agreements are signed and pre-financing clears.

The SAFE loans disbursed so far include:

• Poland — €6.6 billion on 29 May 2026, against a €43.7 billion allocation
• Cyprus — €177.2 million on 18 June 2026
• Lithuania — €956.3 million on 24 June 2026
• Croatia — €255 million on 10 July 2026

For Croatia, the money arrives as the government expands air-defence and border-surveillance projects along NATO’s south-eastern flank. Officials in Zagreb have signalled that further tranches will follow once procurement contracts mature, since each state receives its loan in stages tied to spending milestones.

The wider aim is speed. European capitals concluded after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that fragmented national buying left the continent short of ammunition and slow to reorder. By pooling demand and financing, Brussels hopes SAFE will let governments place larger, joint orders that give European defence firms the confidence to expand production lines.

The instrument entered into force on 29 May 2025 and forms one pillar of a broader push that could mobilise up to €800 billion for defence this decade. The Commission has set out the programme’s design and eligibility rules in its Security Action for Europe framework, while the Council details the loan allocations in its SAFE policy pages.

Critics warn that loans, unlike grants, add to national debt at a time when several borrowers already face tight budgets, and that “buy European” conditions could raise costs or spark friction with non-EU suppliers. Supporters counter that cheap joint borrowing beats leaving each country to raise money alone, and that the readiness gains outweigh the fiscal risk. With Croatia now paid, attention turns to the member states still waiting for their first SAFE loans to land.