Ms Dinka Dinkova:

I thank the Acting Chair and the honourable members of the committee. I will first apologise on behalf of Mr. Guillaume de la Brosse, who, unfortunately, due to a last-minute commitment, had to be somewhere else. I and my colleague, Mr. Jannik Knauer, are happy to replace him and to answer the questions to the best of our knowledge.

Before we answer the specific question, I want to make a general statement about the fact that the SAFE regulations, which the committee is discussing, should be seen in a bigger picture. The ReArm Europe Plan was mentioned. It has five pillars. The first is the activation of the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, which could mobilise additional expenditures for member states. A number of member states have already activated that clause. The second pillar is the SAFE instrument we are discussing, which is raising up to €150 billion on the capital markets to provide loans to the member states, backed by the EU budget. Nineteen member states have already expressed interest, triggering almost the full allocation of the available budget of €150 billion.

Of course, there are then other lines of action. They are all in support of member states' defence readiness and reinforcing member states' defence capabilities. Additional contributions are made from the European Investment Bank, thanks to a revision of the bank's lending policy which is now narrowing down the excluded activities-----