Türkiye unlikely to meet deadline for joining SAFE program, EU official says

Türkiye and South Korea will not be able to meet the deadline for joining the European Union's defense program SAFE (Security Action for Europe), European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said during a briefing in Brussels, responding to a question from Report.

The deadline for completing negotiations and submitting project proposals for participation is November 30.

"Both South Korea and Türkiye are not EU members, but we did receive official requests from them to join SAFE. The Commission is still reviewing both requests," Regnier stated.

According to him, ongoing negotiations on joining the initiative are currently taking place with the United Kingdom and Canada.

"We remain fully committed to implementing our ambitious security and defence partnership with the UK. Canada is also actively engaged in talks with the EU, and we hope to finalize an agreement with them by Sunday (November 30)," he added.

SAFE is designed to accelerate joint defence development and procurement within the European Union and its closest partners.

Several EU countries - primarily Germany - consider Türkiye's participation important. However, a European Commission source familiar with the situation told Report that Greece and Cyprus oppose Türkiye's inclusion in the program. According to the source, Germany's attempts to persuade Greece have been unsuccessful.