Reinsalu: There are worrying aspects of the EU's mutual fund proposal
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said the initial proposal by the European Commission to establish a joint fund is something which can be further developed. However, he has concerns about aspects of the current proposal.
Reinsalu (Isamaa) said at a government press conference on Thursday the Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE) and the Prime Minister Jüri Ratas took initial positions on the issue very quickly, but it will take him some more time to form a position, as he wants to examine the documents released by the European Commission.
"The documents are remarkably vague. I read them on the European Commission's website, they consist of a lot of political jargon, concepts. To understand what is going to happen, you have to work very hard," he said.
Reinsalu said if this leads to centralizing of institutions then he does not support it. He said the main question is who pays into the fund, when and from what.
Reinsalu said he has also discussed this topic with Estonia's commissioner Kadri Simson on Wednesday and came to the conclusion there are several worrying aspects. "Which is not to say that this is not a proposal which cannot be worked on," he added.
"Anything can be done, it does not mean that everything is ready to be accepted immediately. I am not in a hurry to sign it lightly," the foreign minister said. But he added: "I have deep hesitations about the hidden undercurrents of this proposal."
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Editor: Helen Wright