ROME, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Italy has proposed a public guarantee scheme to attract up to 200 billion euros (218.5 billion U.S. dollars) in private investment to strengthen EU defense, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Tuesday.
Presenting the plan ahead of an EU finance ministers' meeting, Giorgetti suggested that "with limited public expenditure, a guarantee fund of around 16.7 billion euros could mobilize up to 200 billion euros" to support dual-use technologies, supply chain protection, and critical infrastructure.
"To close Europe's defense investment gap, we must enhance synergies between national and EU resources," he said, calling for a stronger InvestEU program for defense to attract private investors.
The proposal aims to minimize the impact on national budgets, particularly for high-debt countries. Giorgetti emphasized that defense spending should not come at the expense of health and public services. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollar)
