The European Commission has agreed to allow Hungary to take out a loan of 5.4 billion euros for defense investments.

The European Commission approved Hungary's €5.4 billion plan under the SAFE defense loan program, as announced by spokesperson Thomas Regnier. This funding will be presented to the Council for approval, with over €21 billion remaining available for use. The SAFE program, totaling €150 billion, aims to support member states' defense investments. Hungary initially planned to borrow €16 billion but reduced the amount to €5.4 billion. Other member states are also scaling back their requests. The Commission plans to launch a new application round for the remaining funds, which must be reallocated by 2026 if unused. Defense Minister Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz emphasized the need to consider Hungary's economic capacity when deciding on the SAFE loan, suggesting it could finance existing defense contracts and expedite planned investments.