Emmanuel Macron is in favor of "Corona loans" in the face of "reluctance" from Berlin. He calls for European budgetary solidarity and denies having ignored the signals from Italy showing the severity of the health crisis, in an interview with Italian newspapers Friday, March 27 in the evening.
Nine European countries, including France and Italy, called on Wednesday to launch a joint loan across the European Union to deal with the coronavirus, putting pressure on Germany, opposed to any debt pooling, in the midst of a crisis coronavirus. "We will not overcome this crisis without strong European solidarity, at the health and budgetary levels," said the French head of state in an interview given to the newspapers Corriere de la Serra, La Stampa and La Repubblica.
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"Does the EU and the euro zone boil down to a very flexible monetary institution and set of rules which allow each state to act on its own? Or do we act together to finance our spending, our needs in this vital crisis? ", questions Emmanuel Macron. "It can be a common debt capacity, whatever its name, or an increase in the EU budget to allow real support for the countries most affected by this crisis", a- he detailed. "The amount is secondary, it is this signal that counts, through the common debt or the common budget," he added.
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"I approached this crisis seriously and seriously from the start"
Faced with the "reluctance" of countries like Germany, "we cannot let go of this fight," insisted the President of the Republic.
Asked about a possible French delay on containment measures at a time when the situation was deteriorating in Italy, Emmanuel Macron said: "We have absolutely not ignored these signals. I approached this crisis seriously and seriously from the start , when it started in China. " In particular "because Italy preceded us in this crisis", "we took the hardest measures in France as soon as possible (...) in a number of comparable cases", he argued, questioned on his exit to the theater on March 6, 11 days before the containment measures.
"I followed three essential principles at each stage: base our decisions on scientific advice, adapt to the evolution of the crisis, take proportionate measures," explained Emmanuel Macron.
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On the 10th day of confinement in France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Friday the renewal of this measure until April 15. The country now has 1,995 deaths from the new coronavirus since the start of the epidemic, including nearly 300 occurring in 24 hours, according to the official report released Friday evening.