FIREPOWER: An Intermural EU Brawl over Defence Policy

FIREPOWER: An intermural EU brawl over defence policy

In today's edition: SAFE update, Rheinmetall on bulk orders, EU budget ambitions.

SAFE Alone Will Not Rearm Europe: Structural Weaknesses Undermine EU Defence Finance Plan

The European Commission’s new financial instrument, the Security Action for Europe (SAFE), has been presented as a flagship initiative to address Europe’s urgent defence needs. With €150 billion in loan capacity, SAFE aims to facilitate joint procurement and scale up Europe’s fragmented defence industrial base. However, recent analysis, including from Bruegel fellow Lucio Pench, highlights that the instrument’s limited scale, reliance on nationa…