Italy asks EU for €8 billion in SAFE defence funds

ROME, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The Italian government has requested €8 billion ($9.3 billion) from the European Union's SAFE defence funding programme, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday, confirming earlier media reports.

The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument is a joint borrowing scheme backed by the EU budget aimed at boosting the bloc's defence capabilities and helping member states meet new, more ambitious NATO spending targets.

Italy was eligible for up to €14.9 billion under the facility, which is worth up to €150 billion in total.

The source confirmed that Rome had sent a letter to the European Commission formally requesting access to the fund.

The decision to tap the SAFE scheme follows months of divisions within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition, with Matteo Salvini's League party repeatedly voicing reservations about using the facility.

Hiking defence spending is generally unpopular in Italy, opinion polls show, and the government has faced pressure from opposition parties to use its limited fiscal room to cushion the impact of rising energy costs caused by the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a senior member of Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, has strongly backed tapping the scheme, which aims at allowing Rome to finance planned spending at a lower interest rate than it would face on the market.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin Jones)