Latvia and Its Neighbors Asked for €500 Million to Defend Against Russian Drones.

Latvia and Its Neighbors Asked for €500 Million to Defend Against Russian Drones. Brussels Said No — or Rather, Not What They Were Hoping For

Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia asked the European Commission for an extra €500 million to build a regional drone defense system, driven by fears of hybrid attacks from Russia. The defense ministers of all three countries signed a joint letter, and the Baltics were counting on getting the money as early as 2026.

Brussels, however, had other ideas. EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said there’s almost no free money left in the EU budget — it’s running out. Instead of non-repayable funding, the Baltic states were offered preferential loans under the SAFE program, which still has €21 billion left after the first call. Some costs could potentially be covered through the EU’s Integrated Border Management Fund, but that funding falls far short of the €500 million requested.

Tellingly, Lithuania has already taken advantage of the mechanism on offer: last week its Finance Ministry submitted its first application for €1.06 billion under SAFE — for forming an army division, the Baltic Defense Line, air defense, ammunition, and equipment. SAFE is a temporary EU credit mechanism: unlike grants, the money has to be paid back. It’s still unclear whether the three countries will submit a joint application for drone defense, or how much they hope to get.

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