Eurozone member countries are ready to take budgetary measures to protect the European economy from the impact of the epidemic caused by the new coronavirus, Eurogroup president Mario Centeno said on Wednesday. "We are ready to take further measures. This includes budgetary measures, where necessary, because they may be necessary to support growth," said the Portuguese finance minister in Lisbon after a conference call with his European counterparts. .
European budgetary rules include a clause which "authorizes a temporary deviation from the adjustment trajectory" provided that it is "proven that the additional expenditure is linked to the exceptional event", he specified. "We will spare no effort (...) to protect our economies from greater consequences" than those already noted, added Mario Centeno, recognizing the difficulty in accurately predicting the impact that the epidemic may have. "All the analyzes converge and anticipate a temporary impact followed by a certain recovery," he added, however.
Rich countries get into battle for the economy
The French Minister of Finance, Bruno Le Maire, had hoped before the conference call that the Eurogroup put "on the table the possibility of resorting to fiscal stimulus like the G7 did". Rich countries are getting into battle to immunize the global economy against the world's growing coronavirus, which has already claimed more than 3,200 lives.
The world's most powerful central bank (Fed) has cut interest rates urgently, a spectacular decision, unprecedented in this form since the 2008 financial crisis, while the World Bank announced a plan to $ 12 billion emergency.