The Italian government has joined SAFE, the EU Schachtian program for rearmament loans. According to Euronews, Rome has requested access to a 14.9 billion Euro loan from SAFE, but has not specified how much it will draw nor identify its purpose. Thus, Rome decided to become a debtor to the EU, a non-constitutional supranational institution.
SAFE loans are nominally cheaper than national bonds, but according to some pacifist think-tanks, these loans may result in the borrowing countries owing as much as twice the amount of the original loan, depending upon the variable maturity and interest rates of the loan.
