Bond investors are urging squabbling European Union leaders to get their act together on defense spending and make the bloc’s trillion-euro bond program permanent, reported Bloomberg. That means demand won’t number among the challenges faced by EU politicians at loggerheads over whether to boost shared military capabilities by issuing joint bonds.
Fund managers starved of AAA-rated securities say they’re clamoring for more European issuance. Investors point out that these instruments would enable the spending boost that is becoming ever more imperative to counter Russian aggressive invasion without loading more debt onto individual member states. And there is also something in it for them since EU bonds pay a premium over similarly rated sovereigns.