Romania receives first EUR 2.5 bln payment under EU’s SAFE defense instrument

27 August 2026 Romania received a first payment of EUR 2.5 billion under the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defense instrument, the European Commission and the Romanian government announced. The pre-financing represents 15% of the country’s total EUR 16.68 billion allocation. The funds will be used to begin developing production capacities in Romania and secure orders for Romanian suppliers, according to the government. Romania has received the second-largest allocation among EU member states under SAFE. Its plan includes approximately EUR 4.2 billion for strategic road transport infrastructure, while the remainder will finance defense and security procurement and infrastructure projects. Each tranche, including the pre-financing payment, will have a maturity of 45 year