In a video statement from home in Lisbon, the Portuguese Eurogroup manager calls for power gathering.

- Now we need a European plan to protect the worst affected and to ensure that the internal market comes out of this crisis unharmed, says Centeno ahead of Tuesday's web meeting, which was expected to last throughout the evening - and maybe even the night.

Formally, the euro area finance ministers sit together at their computers. However, the other countries' ministers are also invited, as are many of the heaviest peaks in the various EU institutions.

“My message to the EU finance ministers is clear. Transport in Europe must work. It is unacceptable that vital medical supplies are stopped at the borders. Now it is time for all member countries to take responsibility, ”says Sweden's Magdalena Andersson (S) in a statement in advance.

Loans and promises

On March 26, the finance ministers were given two weeks to produce an economic response to the corona crisis. The order came from EU Heads of State and Government following an infected Web Summit where Italy and Spain, in particular, pressed for vigorous action - with the Netherlands and Austria as the main no-sayers.

What is now being discussed are essentially three different tracks - for nations, for companies and for individuals. The totals are substantial with a total of almost SEK 6,000 billion - EUR 540 billion.

bond Kamp

Powerful and good, for example, think Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz who defended the plans in a debate article in newspapers in Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal on Monday.

However, countries in the south want to go even further and have repeatedly called for the development of common euro bonds. It would provide an opportunity for all euro area countries to borrow at the same level - whether the economy is stable before or ravaged by the euro crisis and government debt.

It is not liked by, for example, the Netherlands.

"I do not want to enter into euro bonds and neither does the government," says Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra, according to the Reuters news agency.