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Hungarian authorities have informed Brussels that they intend to limit their request for an EU defence loan to €5.4 billion under the EU’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) programme, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed on Friday.
The latest figure is less than half the €16.4 billion originally requested by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The original proposal was contested by Orbán’s successor, Péter Magyar, who took office in April. It is understood that Magyar wanted to reassess the original proposal over alleged corruption risks linked to the previous government.
“We were always very clear with the new incoming Hungarian authorities and government that they would be able to take stock of the current situation, and they have now decided to take less than what we initially allocated to Hungary,” Regnier added.
Meanwhile, the size of Italy’s SAFE defence loan was also confirmed on Friday, with Regnier stating that Italy has formally requested €8 billion under the programme.
This is also roughly half of the €14.9 billion originally anticipated by the government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The announcement comes after terse negotiations between Brussels and Rome over the allocation, which was never formally finalised but nevertheless caused consternation between the two capitals.
The SAFE low-interest loan scheme was launched by Brussels last year to strengthen defence industries and military readiness across the bloc in response to the threat posed by Russia.
The programme has a total funding envelope of €150 billion, which is to be distributed among 19 member states.
SAFE forms part of the Commission’s Readiness 2030 plan, which aims to mobilise up to €800 billion in additional defence spending by the end of the decade. It places a particular focus on boosting the procurement of priority defence products.
Under the programme, at least 65% of the value of the weapon system being acquired must be sourced from an EU member state, Ukraine, or a country belonging to the European Economic Area or European Free Trade Association.
The remaining 35% may be sourced from any third country.