It is a major and unprecedented advance. The Franco-German couple is maneuvering for the creation of a stimulus fund of 500 billion euros, destined for the European countries most affected by the coronavirus crisis. But it remains to define the distribution of this financial windfall.
Europe will acquire a stimulus fund of 500 billion euros: Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel announced it together on Monday and it is a major step forward. Where to find such sums?
These sums will be borrowed on the financial markets. But the big news, this is where this plan marks a very deep change, it is that it is the European Commission itself which will borrow the money, on behalf of the 27 member states.
So first, that solves the problem of countries already in great debt like Greece or Italy who would find it difficult to finance themselves. And two, the sums will not be reimbursed by the beneficiary countries but by the 27, depending on their weight in the European economy. Clearly, the strongest states will help the weakest, which was impossible until then because the countries of the North did not want there to be money transfers.
Can each country use the money as it wishes?
Yes, but there will be very specific criteria for unlocking these sums. Depending for example on the number of victims of the epidemic: countries like Italy or Spain, very affected, will be able to benefit from significant sums to renovate their hospital.
The other idea is to help strategic industrial sectors, such as Airbus. We know that the Americans and the Chinese are mobilizing enormous sums to help their aeronautical industry. But so far, Europe has been lagging behind. Thanks to this fund, we will be able to prevent this sector from dropping out compared to our competitors. This is really what is at stake. Now in practice, we have to expect a certain amount of excitement between the 27 for the distribution of this windfall of 500 billion. This promises lively discussions.