MNI BRIEF: EU To Discuss New Body To Manage Defence Spending

European finance ministers will discuss whether a new intergovernmental institution is needed to coordinate defence spending in Europe when they meet in Warsaw this weekend, according to a letter from Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski.

In the letter, the minister said that this may be a more effective approach than the EU's current plan based on national escape clauses from the bloc's fiscal rules and the EUR150 billion SAFE lending facility. The EU-wide approach, he wrote, may fall "short in effectively addressing specific needs and therefore lacking in impact."

The proposal for a new body to manage defence spending will be presented to the finance ministers by the Bruegel think tank, Domanski  said. Bruegel has also formulated proposal for a new joint-funding mechanism to pay for a defence buildup, which would include non-EU states such as the UK and Norway. (See MNI: EU To Discuss Proposal For Joint Defence Funding With UK )