Finland says no to more joint EU debt

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Finland is opposed to a European Commission proposal that the European Union be able to take on more joint debt, Finance Minister Riikka Purra said on Friday.

The European Commission has proposed that the budget for 2028-2034 include an option to jointly borrow money in the case of an emergency.

"We are not just critical but opposed," Purra said on social media platform X. "Finland is thus ready to sink those proposals even single-handedly."

Some members of the 27-country bloc have argued that joint debt could help fund spending that the Commission is proposing at lower borrowing costs.

Meanwhile, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have said they oppose the idea, and Denmark has said it is sceptical.

An agreement on the new EU budget requires backing from all 27 member countries and sign-off by the European Parliament.

(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)