Greece’s stance on SAFE in the European Council, according to diplomatic sources

The European Council adopted on Tuesday a regulation setting up the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument.

According to diplomatic sources regarding the regulation, “Opinions and statements have circulated that bear no relation to reality."

The following is a summary of the key points, with comments:

1. SAFE opens the way for the permanent participation of third countries in EU armamentss programmes. Incorrect: The regulation is a specific financial programme of limited (four-year) duration.
2. Greece could have blocked the adoption of the regulation. Incorrect: The regulation was adopted by qualified majority. Voting in favour were 26 out of 27 EU member states, including Cyprus.
3. Greece was unable to pass substantial improvements to the draft regulation. Incorrect: The other member states were in favour of adopting the regulation, even in its original version before the proposals for improvements from the Greek side. It could therefore have been adopted without any changes. During the negotiations, Greece succeeded in securing strong legal bases in terms of the conditions of participation by accession candidate countries.
4. Greece will have no say over any future EU-third country agreement because the participation of third countries in SAFE is automatic following the regulation’s adoption. Inaccurate: The regulation establishes the general framework for the process. Bilateral agreements between the EU and the third country will follow, provided the conditions are met. Therefore, the critical stage concerns the bilateral agreement specific to each country.

With Greek intervention, the signing of any such bilateral agreement requires unanimity under Article 212 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in conjunction with Article 218 TFEU. This is evident from recital 23 of the regulation, combined with the Commission's statement documented in the minutes of the COREPER II meeting held on 18 May, that it intends to utilise Article 212 TFEU as the legal foundation for these agreements.

1. Greece did not take care so that its national interests were taken into account in the participation of third countries. Incorrect: Greece managed to include in Article 16 of the SAFE regulation, on the eligibility rules for third-country companies and entities, a requirement to take into account the security and defence interests of the EU and member states.

In conclusion, unanimity and the consideration of national security interests. Complex foreign policy issues must be examined in depth and should not be subject to superficial or arbitrary interpretations for the sake of political expediency. A seriousness commensurate with the gravity of the issues is required.