Hungary applied for a loan from the SAFE instrument for EUR 5.4 billion

European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said during Friday's press conference that Hungary has officially submitted an application for a loan from the SAFE instrument for the amount of EUR 5.4 billion. Initially, the government in Budapest planned to reach for as much as EUR 16 billion.

Brussels remains in close contact with the Hungarian authorities regarding the updated plan, which should be received soon, Regnier emphasized.

He also added that "the remaining part of the funds - over EUR 10 billion - will be transferred for use at a later date."

SAFE instrument and EU defense loans

SAFE is an EU instrument worth €150 billion from which member states can receive preferential loans for defense investments, mainly through joint procurement. As noted by the Hungarian weekly "HVG", Hungary is not the only country that does not use the full available credit line.

The previous Hungarian government was the only one that did not vote in favor of adopting the SAFE instrument at the EU Council last year.

Despite this, the then Minister of Economy, Marton Nagy, later announced that Hungary had applied for EUR 20 billion from this fund, and the European Commission granted EUR 16.2 billion of this amount.

Brussels is waiting for Budapest's plan

Hungarian media remind that the European Commission has refused to approve the Hungarian plan several times, citing its scale and the need to conduct bilateral consultations.

Budapest must now submit an updated plan, which will be assessed by Brussels.