Cyprus joins SAFE with €1.2 billion – Until 30 November the armament plan

The accession of Cyprus to the SAFE Programme of the European Union with a fiscal publication of €1.2 cardinal was announced by the Cypriot Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letibiotis, underlining that the determination assumes peculiar value successful the planetary context. The European Commission proceeded connected 9 September to administer the amounts to the subordinate states.

The SAFE is the caller European fiscal instrumentality to straight heighten the defence readiness of Member States done brushed loans for associated procurement and concern successful the European defence industry. It was adopted connected 27 May 2025 and entered into unit aft its work successful the Official Journal of the EU. It is simply a bundle of loans of up to €150 billion, with a agelong maturity and grace period, aimed astatine closing captious defence capableness gaps.

Cyprus’ stock and timeline

According to the Commission decision, Cyprus’s share amounts to €1,181,503,924. Member States person to taxable their nationalist concern plans by the extremity of November 2025 successful bid to commencement disbursements from 2026. Nicosia notes that the mean yearly utilisation complaint for the 5 years is estimated astatine astir €220-230 million, adjusted to the needs of the Cyprus National Guard.

The Cypriot Ministry of Defence, successful practice with the General Staff of the National Guard (GEF) , is finalising the database of programmes to beryllium included successful the nationalist program by 30 November. Priority is fixed some to gathering operational needs and strengthening the home defence industry, with the purpose of extroversion and information successful European accumulation chains.

Bilateral magnitude with the USA: EDA and FMS

Alongside the European strand, Nicosia is taking vantage of Cyprus’s rank successful the US Excess Defense Articles and Foreign Military Sales programs. With the Presidential Memorandum of January 15, 2025, the US made Cyprus afloat eligible for nonstop procurement and entree to surplus defence materials. The improvement was confirmed by the White House and the US Embassy, portion Cypriot sources enactment that method teams volition analyse disposable systems connected the ground.

In the aforesaid discourse are interventions to upgrade the “Andreas Papandreou” aerial basal successful Paphos and the naval basal astatine “Evangelos Florakis” successful Mari, with method and perchance fiscal contributions from the US and the EU, the Cyprus Defence Ministry has said.

Turkish engagement and “safeguards”

Asked to remark connected Turkey’s imaginable information successful SAFE, the Cypriot Government Spokesman said that thing has changed successful presumption of the provisions for 3rd countries and referred to “safeguards”, making circumstantial notation to Article 16, which allows for the exclusion of participants erstwhile the information interests of a subordinate authorities oregon the EU are violated.

He besides recalled that entree by a campaigner authorities requires the decision of a circumstantial statement with the EU. In the regulatory framework, 3rd state information requires organization information and defence agreements and is taxable to strict eligibility rules and proviso concatenation information checks.