The European Commission intends to use the surpluses of the SAFE program, which has a allocation of 150 billion euros, to recover two priority projects for European defense: the construction of an air shield and an anti-drone defense initiative. According to two diplomats cited by Euractiv, Brussels estimates that between 10 and 15 billion euros will be available after the conclusion of financing agreements with member states. This margin results from changes to national plans, namely the reduction of the amount requested by Italy, which went from 14.9 billion to around 8 billion euros, and the revision of Hungary's plan.
The two initiatives were initially included in the European Commission's Defense Readiness Roadmap, presented with the objective of closing capability gaps and improving European military preparedness. The initial proposal indicated that the new capabilities should be operational before the end of the decade. Using the SAFE surpluses would allow transforming unallocated funds into common Defense projects focused on the countries closest to Russia, given the evolution of the threat in European airspace, where several eastern flank allies have been recording drone incursions and other violations.
The two projects are part of four flagships presented by Brussels to prepare Europe to defend itself by 2030, together with the Space Shield and the "Eastern Flank Watch" initiative. The latter was the only one formally supported by member states, with a coalition of 13 countries, together with Ukraine and Norway, presenting a proposal to the Commission. The project received 60 million euros from the European Defense Industrial Development Programme and could mobilize up to 100 billion euros in investment.
For Brussels, the second round of financing could serve not only to redistribute the money remaining from SAFE, but also to accelerate European air and anti-drone defense capabilities precisely in the areas most exposed to Russian threats. The Air Shield aims to strengthen European capacity to defend against air and missile threats, while the Anti-Drone Initiative aims to create a coordinated response to the growing use of unmanned systems.
