EU countries agree on big defence fund, diplomat says

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -EU countries have in principle agreed on the proposals for a 150 billion euro ($168.3 billion) fund aimed at boosting Europe’s defence, known as Security Action for Europe (SAFE), an EU diplomat said on Monday.

The plan, proposed by the European Commission in March, will be financed through joint borrowing and give loans to EU members and certain other countries such as Ukraine for projects that bolster their defences and boost Europe’s arms industry.

($1 = 0.8913 euros)

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Bart Meijer;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)