Ukraine and the European Union are discussing using the remaining funds of the SAFE programme to launch new joint defence projects.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this after a conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had thanked the head of the European Commission for the attention paid to Ukraine and European security in her annual address to the European Parliament.

One of the initiatives she announced there was to use the remaining SAFE funds for a new programme of joint projects with Ukrainian companies. Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement on 16 September in her State of the Union address.

“The initiative to use the remaining funds from the SAFE programme to support new defence projects between Ukraine and the European Union is very timely and genuinely needed. It is important to put it into practice,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is an EU financial instrument worth up to €150 billion, created to boost member states’ defence investment through joint procurement. Ukraine can take part in such procurement on an equal footing with EU countries, and Ukrainian manufacturers can act as suppliers under the programme.

According to the Council of the EU, 15 of the 19 national SAFE plans submitted by member states include projects involving Ukraine.

During the conversation, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen also discussed in detail the problem of financing Ukraine’s defence and possible solutions to strengthen its defence resilience.

The President noted that Ukraine is ready to work on other security initiatives as well that could strengthen both Ukraine’s defence and Europe’s capabilities.

The two sides agreed to continue the discussion at an in-person meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The European Commission has separately stated its intention to deepen joint development of defence systems with Ukraine. In this year’s address, Ursula von der Leyen announced joint work on an affordable modular missile defence system and named SAFE as one source of funding for further joint projects with Ukraine’s defence industry.