ROME (Reuters) – The Italian parliament should have a proper and wide-ranging debate on reform of the euro zone bailout fund before deciding whether to ratify it, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), as the fund is formally known, was created in 2012, during the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis, to lend to euro zone governments cut off from markets.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Keith Weir)