While much of the discussion around Europe’s €150 billion SAFE instrument focuses on defence procurement, one strategic fact is often overlooked: Ukraine is already embedded in most national SAFE investment plans. This article explains what SAFE funds, how Ukrainian organisations and their EU partners can engage with it, and why the combined SAFE–EDF–Horizon Europe landscape creates new opportunities for cross-border collaboration.
• €150 billion defence instrument
• 19 national investment plans submitted
• 15 plans already include Ukraine
• Repayment period up to 45 years
• Programme runs through 2030
SAFE at a Glance
What SAFE Is, in Plain Terms
SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is an EU financial instrument that provides up to €150 billion in low-interest loans to EU member states for common defence procurement. It is financed through EU-bond issuances, entered into force in May 2025, and disburses through 2030 with repayment terms stretching over 45 years. SAFE sits within the broader ReArm Europe Plan / Readiness 2030, which aims to mobilise up to €800 billion for European defence by 2030.
Unlike a typical grant programme, SAFE works through National Defence Investment Plans: member states submit procurement plans to the Commission, which assesses and forwards qualifying plans to the Council for approval. Eighteen member states have already had plans approved, and disbursements are underway — Poland became the first to receive a payment, roughly €6.6 billion, in May 2026.
Why Ukraine Is Central to SAFE — Not Peripheral
This is the detail most coverage of SAFE misses: Ukraine is not a bystander to this instrument. Ukraine and EEA/EFTA countries can participate in common procurements on equal terms with EU member states, and industry from partner countries can be included in the same procurement chains.
Of the 19 national defence investment plans submitted to the Commission, 15 explicitly include projects involving Ukraine. That is not a marginal detail — it means the large majority of SAFE’s national programming already assumes Ukrainian industrial or procurement involvement. Combined with Ukraine’s parallel association to the European Defence Fund, this represents one of the most concrete channels currently available for integrating Ukrainian defence-tech capacity into EU-funded programmes.
A June 2026 bilateral agreement also opened SAFE common procurement to Canadian industry, and the framework already extends, subject to a Security and Defence Partnership, to countries including Moldova, North Macedonia, Norway, and the UK — placing Ukraine inside a genuinely multilateral procurement network rather than a bilateral EU-Ukraine arrangement.
What This Means in Practice
- Ukrainian organisations with relevant industrial or technological capacity can, in principle, be included in EU member states’ common procurement projects under SAFE — access runs through the national plans of participating member states, not through a separate Ukrainian application window.
- EU-based organisations building defence-related consortia have a strategic reason to identify Ukrainian partners early: 15 of 19 national plans already assume this kind of involvement, so Ukrainian capacity is not an afterthought in proposal design.
- SAFE runs alongside Ukraine’s existing association to the European Defence Fund, meaning Ukrainian organisations increasingly have two connected — not competing — channels into EU defence funding.
- The requirement that procured systems contain at least 65% European components is relevant for any consortium assessing where Ukrainian-made components or subsystems can count toward that threshold.
The SAFE II Debate: From Loans to Grants
SAFE was designed as an exceptional, temporary instrument, and discussion of a successor — informally called “SAFE II” — is already underway. Reporting in June 2026 indicates EU policymakers are considering shifting the model from loans toward grants, partly in response to recent hybrid threats on the EU’s eastern flank and partly to address uneven uptake among member states with differing fiscal space. No formal proposal has been tabled yet, but the direction of the debate matters for any organisation planning multi-year defence-sector positioning: a grant-based successor would materially change the calculus for smaller organisations and research institutions that found the loan structure of SAFE I less directly relevant to their own funding needs.
How This Fits the Wider EU–Ukraine Funding Picture
SAFE does not exist in isolation. It sits alongside two other major channels of EU–Ukraine integration relevant to any organisation building cross-border consortia:
- Ukraine’s association to Horizon Europe (in force since June 2022), which allows Ukrainian research and innovation actors to participate in Horizon Europe calls on equal terms with EU entities, without financial contribution.
- Ukraine’s formal association to the European Defence Fund, adopted under the same broader ReArm Europe momentum, opening EDF competitions to Ukrainian scientists, enterprises, and developers.
Together, SAFE, EDF association, and Horizon Europe association form a genuinely joined-up funding landscape for Ukraine — one that very little current content treats as a single strategic picture rather than three separate news items.
What Ukrainian and EU Organisations Should Do Now
- Map where your organisation’s capability intersects with the 15 national SAFE plans that already include Ukraine — direct outreach to those member states’ contracting authorities is more actionable than waiting for a generic call.
- Build consortium documentation now that clearly demonstrates European-component thresholds where relevant, given the 65% European-content requirement.
- Track the SAFE II debate closely — a shift toward grants would open the instrument to a wider range of organisations, including those without capacity to take on loan-based financing.
- Treat Horizon Europe association, EDF association, and SAFE as one coordinated positioning strategy, not three separate applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ukrainian companies apply for SAFE funding directly?
Not as a direct applicant window. SAFE loans are issued to EU member states, which then run common procurements. Ukraine participates through inclusion in those member states’ procurement plans and projects, on equal terms with EU industry.
How many SAFE national plans involve Ukraine?
Fifteen of the nineteen national defence investment plans submitted to the European Commission under SAFE include projects involving Ukraine.
Is SAFE the same as the European Defence Fund?
No. SAFE is a loan-based instrument for member states’ common procurement, financed through EU-bond issuance. The European Defence Fund is a separate, grant-based Horizon-adjacent programme that Ukraine is also formally associated to. The two run in parallel.
What is SAFE II?
An informal term for a possible successor to SAFE, currently under discussion among EU policymakers, that may shift the instrument from loans toward grants. No formal proposal has been published yet.
• SAFE II developments and possible grant-based funding
• European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS)
• European Defence Fund 2027
• Ukraine’s deeper integration into EU defence programmes
• New cross-border procurement partnerships
What to Watch Next
Related Nexuswelt programme support: Ukrainian and European organisations exploring defence, security and resilience opportunities can learn more about Nexuswelt’s support for the European Defence Fund and Horizon Europe. Nexuswelt also supports organisations with partner search and consortium building, proposal writing and strategic proposal support and early positioning for cross-border EU funding and procurement opportunities.
How Nexuswelt Can Help
Nexuswelt’s Ukraine Bridge supports Ukrainian and European organisations with consortium building, strategic partner search, proposal positioning, dissemination and exploitation planning, and navigation across Horizon Europe, the European Defence Fund and the evolving SAFE ecosystem. Early positioning against national SAFE plans and upcoming calls provides a significant competitive advantage.
Get in touch to map your organisation’s position across these three connected channels.
Sources & Further Reading
Primary sources used for this article, for readers and reviewers who want to verify figures directly:
- Council of the EU — What is Security Action for Europe (SAFE)?
- European Commission — SAFE instrument proposal and borrowing framework
- European Commission (Defence Industry and Space) — first wave of SAFE funding approved, Ukraine integration
- Euronews — the path to SAFE II (12 June 2026)
- European Parliament (EPRS) — ReArm Europe Plan / Readiness 2030 briefing
- Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine — Ukraine’s association to the European Defence Fund
- Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine — specific support for Ukrainian research and innovation
