Countries that pose a threat to EU member states cannot participate in SAFE, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas reiterated on Sunday, referring to the “very clear” position of European Council President Antonio Costa, which “needs no further interpretation.”
The Defence Minister, in statements made in Kelokedara, Paphos, after the memorial service for the fallen heroes of the community, and asked about the issue, said that a list of defence programmes of interest to the Republic of Cyprus will be submitted by November 30.
Asked if there had been any developments regarding Turkey's accession to SAFE, Palmas said that “the position of the President of the European Council, Mr. Antonio Costa, is very clear, that countries which pose a threat to EU member states cannot participate in the SAFE regulation.”
He further noted that “therefore, this position, in itself, with absolute clarity, requires no other interpretation than what Mr. Antonio Costa has said.”
Beyond that, the Minister of Defence continued, “the Republic of Cyprus, as is well known, has been approved to participate in this regulation with an amount of €1.2 billion.”
He added that "we have until November 30 to submit the list of equipment programmes that we are interested in so that the process can move forward and be completed within a five-year horizon, to exhaust this amount with whatever equipment we consider useful for strengthening our National Guard and our defensive shield," he concluded.
It is noted that November 30 is the deadline for countries wishing to obtain loans through SAFE, which must have submitted their defence plans by then for immediate evaluation by the European Council.
CNA