Warsaw, May 28 (IANS) Poland plans to sign agreements with the European Union (EU) by the end of May to finance military equipment purchases worth 100 billion Polish zlotys (about 27.49 billion US dollars), Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday.
At a signing ceremony at the Cyber Defence Forces Component Command in Legionowo, near Warsaw, Tusk said that by the end of May, 100 billion Polish zlotys would be allocated under approximately 40 agreements. More than 10,000 Polish companies are set to benefit from the funds, which will come from the EU’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) program.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the ceremony that SAFE would strengthen national security, NATO’s eastern flank and the EU’s border security, Xinhua news agency reported.
Under EU rules, to benefit from SAFE funding, single-country purchase agreements must be signed by the end of May. After this date, purchases must be made by at least two countries participating in the program.
The SAFE program provides financial support through preferential loans to enhance defence capabilities across the EU. The funds are intended to strengthen national security infrastructure and support joint European defence efforts.
Poland is the largest of 19 beneficiaries of the EU’s 150-billion-euro (about 174.51 billion U.S. dollars) SAFE initiative, with up to 180 billion Polish zlotys (about 49.49 billion U.S. dollars) allocated to Poland.
Poland signed a SAFE agreement with the European Commission on May 8.
Meanwhile, last week, Poland received three F-35 fighter jets from the United States.
These are the first fifth-generation F-35 fighters deployed on NATO’s eastern flank, Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X.
The announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland.
Poland and the United States signed a contract in 2020 for the purchase of 32 F-35 fighter jets, along with training and logistics packages, valued at 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Polish Defence Ministry.
Production of the first aircraft was completed in November 2024, and all deliveries are scheduled to be completed by 2029, according to the Polish Press Agency.
The total value of Poland’s arms purchases from the United States currently stands at about 63 billion U.S. dollars, Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
–IANS
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