EU Approves $170 Billion Defense Fund as Europe Moves to Take Charge of Own Security

The program marks a historic investment in joint arms procurement as European Union countries take more responsibility for the continent’s defense.

French soldiers take part in joint military exercises with the British army near Reims, France, on April 22, 2025. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images

The European Union (EU) has formally adopted a landmark $170 billion defense financing program aimed at rearming the continent, bolstering its defense industry, and reducing reliance on the United States as the war in Ukraine rages on and questions swirl about the United States’ future engagement in Europe’s security amid increasing risks in the Pacific posed by communist China.

The new instrument, known as the Security Action for Europe (SAFE), was finalized under Poland’s rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and announced on May 27. The initiative marks the EU’s largest-ever joint military investment, allowing the bloc’s member states to access competitively priced, long-term loans to fund defense procurement in key areas such as artillery, drones, cyber defense, and missile systems—including ones with deep precision strike capability.