Bulgaria’s Cabinet to ask Parliament to ratify SAFE loan agreement for key projects for armed forces
Bulgaria’s Cabinet is to ask the National Assembly to ratify a loan agreement and operational agreements under the EU’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) financial instrument to speed up defence readiness, the government information service said on July 15.
The loan agreement has been signed by Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Gulub Donev, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius and the European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin.
After the ratification of the two agreements by the National Assembly, the financial support for the nine key projects for the development of the Armed Forces under the SAFE instrument will be ensured, the Bulgarian government statement said.
A previous government statement on June 24 said that the Cabinet had adopted a decision to approve two projects under the SAFE instrument, including a loan agreement between the EU and Bulgaria for close to 3.3 billion euro and the operational agreements.
The loan will be at favourable interest rates, with a grace period of up to 10 years on the principal and a repayment period of up to 45 years.
Kubilius said on X on July 4: “Today I signed one more SAFE agreement to strengthen defence in Europe – with Bulgaria”.
The EU support of 3.3 billion euro through SAFE instrument will boost Bulgarian defence capabilities and defence industry, necessary for achieving national and European defence readiness, he said.
(Photo via Kubilius’s X page)
