Signal ReArm Europe tools: a defence escape clause and 150 billion euros of SAFE loans

Summary

In March 2025 the Commission presented the White Paper on European Defence, Readiness 2030, together with the ReArm Europe plan. The White Paper calls for large, sustained defence investment and more industrial capacity, and proposes using EU fiscal and industrial tools to strengthen members and help NATO members meet capability targets. Its two instruments with concrete sums are a national escape clause in the Stability and Growth Pact and the SAFE loan facility. The escape clause lets members exceed their net expenditure paths by up to 1.5 percent of GDP a year for defence, which the Commission estimates could open about 650 billion euros of fiscal room over four years, and 18 member states were covered by June 2026. SAFE lends up to 150 billion euros raised on capital markets to support joint investment and procurement, with priority on air and missile defence and ammunition.