"We will make any decision based on the general interest of the Spanish for financiers in the most efficient way. The rest of the debates do not correspond to the reality in which we are working." Minister Nadia Calviño, a technical expert who, after more than a year, begins to master the elusive language of politics, does not say yes or no to the question most asked these days, that of whether Spain will ask for access to the Mede's precautionary lines of credit , the Eurozone Stability Mechanism. But without saying anything, he leaves all options open.

Those lines are not a bailout like the ones the Mede granted years ago to countries that had closed access to markets. They do not imply any type of conditionality, except to allocate the funds to "direct and indirect health expenses" . They have very advantageous conditions, with an interest rate of just 0.015% (plus a 0.25% start) and a maximum average maturity of 10 years, with which, according to Mede's own calculations, Spain could save up to 2,000 million euros in interest over the next decade if you request the maximum amount available, 2% of GDP, around 25,000 million euros.

However, no country takes the first step. There is political stigma, it can become a weapon for the opposition, so there are doubts. Calviño does not say that the door is closed, he appreciates that there are options in case it is necessary, but he reiterates again and again that right now it is not necessary because Spain is financed cheaply, and the best proof is yesterday's issuance of letters, which at 12 months they still have negative rates.

"It is always good to have financing alternatives in a budgetary situation like the current one," said Calviño, who although he values ​​"positively the creation of financing instruments adapted to the needs of this crisis," does not contemplate making use of the Mede for the moment.

The vice-president has affirmed that Spain is financed in the markets at present "in very beneficial conditions" and that "it is necessary to take into account not only the interest rate but the entire portfolio of the State. This we are going to evaluate," he settled minutes. before starting a meeting of the Eurogroup and the Mede Board of Governors in which some pending fringes will be discussed.

Another line of credit that is already free is Sure , the mechanism that the European Commission put in place to support countries, such as Spain, that have had to make use of temporary employment regulation files (ERTE) to keep workers in their jobs. "We have supported the creation of this instrument from the first moment," explained the vice president, who confirmed that the government's intention is to use it to pay the costs of the ERTE put in place to "mitigate the negative impact for the use "of confinement measures.

The differences between the Sure and the Mede lines are not very great. In both cases, a European institution goes to the markets and then lends to the countries without strict conditionality. But the fact that in this case it is going to be the Commission or that neighbors like France have shown their intention to also come, makes the decision much more bearable.

The amounts, in any case, are not enough to cover everyone's needs. Although the Commission plans to raise up to 100,000 million euros, there is a limit so that the three most affected countries (and Spain was surely one of them) do not hoard more than 60,000 . With a third of that, Spain could pay with lower interests than the market just a couple of months of ERTE expenses. Spain has lobbied to make it possible for the instrument to be up and running no later than June 1, which is closer now, just waiting for countries to make their contributions

Quarantined and without notice about Nissan

The minister has also spoken on sensitive topics of the week. The decision on quarantine for those coming from abroad, which he has defended. Nissan's announcement to close its Barcelona plant, for which it aims "to have no record of an official notification", at least in its Ministry. And France's apparent decision to force companies that want to access public aid will have to repatriate part of the production, which would affect the automobile sector even more. And that it is hardly compatible with community standards and its spirit.

"It is essential to protect the proper functioning of the internal market and the principles that guide the EU, as well as the competition and internal market rules that prevent discrimination between producers. It is a basic principle that we must continue to protect in order to come out of the crisis together and there is no further divergence. I will not comment further until I have a chance to see in detail what arises and if there may be some kind of misunderstanding. ", has provisionally closed.

The issue of the Internal Market and the differences between countries is something that the Eurogroup will be addressing today. More than 50% of the extraordinary state aid approved by the EU (a total of almost 2 billion euros) has been mobilized by Germany . The Spanish percentage is around 2%.

There are three mantras that have been repeated non-stop in the weeks following the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in Europe. The health crisis will be accompanied by an unprecedented economic impact; extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures; And what is at stake in this crisis, and this is not new, is the future of Europe.

And the cornerstone of the European economy, beyond the Economic and Monetary Union, is the Single Market. As happened during the financial crisis with the Eurozone, which exposed the shame of an incomplete Union, the internal market has been the great victim of the Covid-19 outbreak in Europe.

The strict EU competition rules aim to guarantee a level playing field for all companies in the bloc. The European Commission's decision to relax them in March this year to allow states to support their economies has put this system at stake. Not all countries have the same fiscal space to inject capital into their companies. That is why the implementation of a recovery instrument is key for countries such as Italy, France or Spain, most affected by the crisis and with less room for maneuver.

"Our concern from the outset has been to protect the proper functioning of the Internal Market and a good operating framework for all European companies," explained Calviño. The vice president, however, insisted that for Spain it is key to ensure in this regard "that there will not be a difference in treatment" between companies. The Commission will inform finance ministers that it is late on the operation of this time frame: "I hope that with these explanations your commitment to the Internal Market and the competition framework will be clear."

The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, revealed some of the keys last Wednesday during a debate in the European Parliament, although she will not present the package until next May 27. The instrument will be linked to the EU's multi- annual budget that expires in December this year and whose draft the executive also works on. Von der Leyen proposes borrowing in the markets using contributions from member states as collateral. Cohesion policy - whose objective is to reduce territorial inequalities in the EU - and support for the private sector - including a special fund to provide liquidity to companies - will be the fundamental pillars of the package, which has yet to be detailed.

Although Calviño is not concerned about the delay, as long as the deal is swift, he has insisted on the need to balance access to these funds through loans and transfers, a controversial point for many member states.

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HistoryEverything the EU can learn from its past to overcome the Covid-19 crisis

Macroeconomics Spain proposes a European reconstruction fund of at least one trillion and without Eurobonds

Reconstruction Insufficient consensus in Brussels for the Spanish route of perpetual debt