Barry Andrews says he supports joint borrowing, despite McGrath ruling out defence bonds

News Snapshot:

FIANNA FÁIL MEP Barry Andrews has matched calls by finance minister Michael McGrath that Ireland should not support so-called defence bonds at EU level – but said he is in favour of joint borrowing initiatives for other projects. Defence bonds are a French-led idea and were pitched to European leaders last month. Member states would buy-in to financing EU defensive infrastructure and later share a mutual debt. Sources in Brussels have expressed concern over how vulnerable the EU is in terms of defending itself, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the heightening tensions globally. Joint-debt schemes...