A message to Ankara that threats against an EU member state close the door to a country’s participation in European defence programs was sent today by the European Commission.

Commission spokesman for defence Tomas Rainier, responding to questions on the possibility of third country participation in the SAFE instrument, said today that the Commission has taken serious note of the concerns raised by some member states.

“We have already taken seriously the concerns raised by some Member States when we proposed SAFE. Article 16 is clear. The participation of a third country can be excluded if that third country poses a direct threat to the defence or security of an EU member state or to the EU as a whole.” Tomás Renier said.

As he explained, up to 65% of the components of a common supply product must come from EU, EFTA/EEA countries or Ukraine. All third countries can participate in a proportion of no more than 35% of the product’s ingredients.

It will be recalled that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a recent interview, had emphatically stressed that there can be no EU cooperation on defense programs with a country that maintains a “casus belli” (threat of war) against Greece. Mitsotakis had even noted that he intends to raise the issue of lifting it with Tayyip Erdogan, while reports say that Athens’ message has already been sent to European capitals and Brussels.

Through program SAFE, the  EU will finance urgent and large-scale investments in the European defence technological and industrial base. In particular, the EU will provide up to €150 billion to be disbursed to the Member States concerned upon request and on the basis of national plans. The disbursements will take the form of long-term loans at competitive rates.

SAFE provides for cooperation with third countries. Ukraine and the European Economic Area – European Free Trade Association (EEA-EFTA) countries will be treated on the same terms as member states, while accession countries, candidate countries, which have signed security and defence partnerships with the EU are also allowed to participate.