Italy’s Meloni Backs EU Bonds to Finance Defense Investments
(Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signaled support for joint European Union debt for defense investments that are crucial to support the war in Ukraine, just ahead of a summit starting Thursday in Brussels.
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“I think a debate is necessary to imagine innovative solutions, paving the way for the possibility of European bonds,” Meloni told Italian lawmakers on Wednesday.
The use of common issuance has run into resistance from Germany and its allies, and a debate on the issue will likely be off the table when the bloc’s leaders meet this week.
The conversation will instead focus on trade tensions with China and the US, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to fill the EU’s top jobs following elections earlier this month.
Meloni will take her seat at the table as one of the few leaders boosted by the European Parliament vote. She has been offered the chance to fill a senior role in the next European Commission as part of her support for incumbent commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, according to people familiar with the matter.
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