EU presidency welcomes Giorgetti defence proposal

(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, MAR 11 - The Polish duty presidency of the EU said Tuesday that it welcomes a proposal by Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti to mobilize up to 200 billion euros of private money to invest in boosting Europe's defence capabilities.
    The money would be generated over five years by EU member countries setting up a 16-billion-euro common guarantee fund, so the impact on State budgets would be limited. "The Italian proposal was welcomed yesterday (Monday)," Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said at the end of the ECOFIN meeting.
    "Now it will have to be discussed with the European Commission but, from the point of view of the EU presidency, the message is that we need a strong Capital Markets Union to finance these new needs".
    Giorgetti told ECOFIN that the fund would optimize "the use of national and European resources with the aim of conveying private capital in a more effective manner, with contained public expenditure".
    Giorgetti told ECOFIN that Italy will to do its part to bolster Europe's defence, but not by sacrificing health care and other public services, according to a note issued by the economy ministry. (ANSA).