Japan applies to join SAFE

Japan has submitted an official application to participate in SAFE (Security Action for Europe), following earlier applications by Turkey and South Korea.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said at a briefing, Ukrinform reports.

According to Regnier, Turkey and South Korea had also expressed interest in starting bilateral negotiations on full association with SAFE, and that this also applied to Japan. He confirmed that this was the case.

He recalled that after the EU concluded a bilateral agreement with Canada on joining SAFE, the next step would be for the EU to consider the applications from South Korea and Turkey.

When asked about Japan's chances of concluding an accession agreement given its late application, he cautioned that it was too early to make predictions because the European Commission had received 19 national plans from EU member states and was currently assessing them.

He added that it was important to remember that in any case third countries, including Japan, were able to participate.

According to him, loan applications under the SAFE program, whose initial budget was EUR 150 billion, already exceeded that budget by roughly 25 percent — a total of nearly EUR 40 billion.

As Ukrinform reported, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius stated that EU member states had submitted applications for funding 691 defense projects, demonstrating significant interest in the SAFE secure lending program. Fifteen EU member states also included support for Ukraine in their applications.

Photo: Keizo Mori/UPI