April 10, 2020–Under increasing strain to hold their political and economic union together, Eurozone finance ministers agreed to a €500 billion economic rescue package for workers, businesses and governments.
Eurogroup President Mário Centeno said the plan is meant to ensure Europe grows “together and not apart once the virus is behind us.”
The latest rescue package to deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis comes on top of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures worth trillions of Euros. Previous measures amount to 3 percent of GDP in fiscal measures and 16 percent of GDP in new monetary policies, according to the Eurogroup.
Finance ministers from the 19 Eurozone countries agreed to the latest measure after a marathon 14-hour session.
“Now we are building European solutions, also in record time, because we will only come through this test together, as Europeans,” Centeno said following a videoconference. “Going into the crisis, our nations’ capacity to respond was different, we are not all at the same level, despite all the flexibility. It can become much worse on the way out of the crisis. That is why solidarity is key if we are to stop deep fragmentation in the euro area.”
New Rescue Package
EU leaders are expected to meet next week to consider the bailout fund. The new bailout includes precautionary credit lines, a method to provide loans to governments to protect workers and jobs, and a pan-European “guarantee fund” for businesses.
“With this unparalleled package we shoulder the burden of the crisis together,” European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday.
Notably, the recovery package does not address longer-term economic reconstruction.
For more information, see the press release on April 9.
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