Sebastião Bugalho, head of the AD (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) list for the European elections, emphasizes that his electoral program defends the "creation of so-called `Defense bonds´, which are nothing more than joint debt", similar to what was done to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective would be to "face war and defense expenses without overloading the multiannual budget of the European Union", he proposes, considering that the issuance of debt would also be a way to "finally materialize" the creation of a "single market for defense". In response to a questionnaire sent by Lusa to the heads of the lists for the June 09 elections, Marta Temido, number one on the PS list, argues that the use of debt issuance should be "implemented structurally in the European Union to deal with the various common challenges", such as housing, reindustrialization and green and digital transitions. This model, she admits, can also "be considered in the common security and defense policy, which is today an unavoidable priority for the European Union, given the current geopolitical context". Temido states that she recognizes that traditionally the area of defense is an area of sovereignty of the member states but, she argues, "cooperation in this area is today inevitable and necessary" and "greater integration of the sector" between countries should be promoted. For Livre, the joint issuance of debt is an important instrument for putting common policies into practice and a "step that should be considered even though it may allow for consequent support for the Ukrainian people's effort to exercise their right to defense" against Russia. "There is still a long way to go", considers the head of the Livre list, Francisco Paupério, stating that "greater democratization of the institutions and, in particular, the empowerment of the European Parliament to ensure transparency in the management of funds" would be necessary. The head of the IL list, Cotrim de Figueiredo, states that he is "tendentially against the issuance of debt because this seems to imply the existence of European taxes". For this candidacy, it is primarily up to the NATO member states to "ensure that they fulfill their commitment of 2% of GDP on defense". The candidacy of Pedro Fidalgo, from PAN, expresses "serious reservations" about the joint issuance of debt for "compromising future generations". As an alternative, he proposes "a contribution on the excessive profits of the war industry to compensate for environmental damage" and to provide "humanitarian support to the populations" affected by the war. Chega agrees that the European Union should seek "innovative solutions", both in terms of the number of military personnel and in terms of equipment, but opposes such solutions being based "only on the concept of more indebtedness". "The Chega MEPs will never accept new taxes or any form of increase in the tax burden, direct or indirect", replied Tânger Correa, head of the list. On the BE side, Catarina Martins considers that the debate on European defense "has been the opposite of what it should be", arguing that there is much talk of war and little of peace. BE considers the idea of "using Ukraine as an excuse to finance the German arms industry, the same one that is delivering weapons to Nethanyahu [Israeli Prime Minister]" unacceptable. Against militarism and the "arms race", João Oliveira, head of the CDU (PCP/PEV/IL) list, is against the issuance of joint debt to finance European defense, warning that this is a "possible mechanism that will end up being reimbursed by the countries themselves". The "so-called war economy" is "excellent news for arms multinationals but a nightmare for the people", he criticizes. Read Also: Candidates united in defense of better support for farmers (Portuguese version)