18 EU Nations Seek Billions in Defense Funds Amid Europe Pivot

EIGHTEEN European Union countries have applied for billions of euros from a new defense fund aimed at helping Europe provide for its own security, the bloc's executive branch said Wednesday, with Poland seeking more than a third of the money.

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The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund is a 150-billion-euro ($173 billion) program of cheap loans that member countries, Ukraine, and outsiders with an EU security agreement, like Britain, can use to buy military equipment together. The fund was launched after the Trump administration signaled that Europe is no longer a US security priority. It's for buying key equipment like air and missile defense syste