The EU executive said waiting until the end of the year is not "a good timeline" for them
The European Commission lashed out at Rome on Tuesday over delays in activating its €14.9 billion SAFE defence loan allocation, warning Italy that it has “no time to lose” when it comes to defence.
The warning came after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani caused confusion in the Italian Parliament by saying Rome had “decided to use the full €14.9 billion of SAFE”, before later backtracking and clarifying that Italy had only “booked” the maximum amount available.
The government, he said, would decide “by the end of the year” how much it would actually use, suggesting the final figure could be between €6 billion and €9 billion.
A Commission spokesperson told reporters, however, that “waiting until December is not a good timeline for us” and that the EU executive needs to proceed quickly with the disbursement of funds.
