Coronavirus: Eurogroup announces new 240 billion euro line of credit

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Brussels will open a new line of credit of up to € 240 billion to help member countries fight the Covid-19 crisis. It was the president of the Eurogroup, Mario Centeno, Portuguese Minister of Finance, who announced it in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro. The Portuguese are counting on this new option to obtain a consensus of Europeans.

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Difficult to agree cicadas and ants on how to counter the current crisis. Issuing “corona” bonds to finance the collective effort? The idea has yet to take hold.

It is to help the cicadas without annoying the ants that the Eurogroup wants to activate this new line of credit of up to 240 billion euros, guaranteed by the European Stability Mechanism (MES), and which is intended for all member countries.

The European Stability Mechanism was created in 2012, during the eurozone debt crisis to help states facing funding problems on the markets.

The beneficiaries of the ESM must normally put in place in return for reforms, which are sometimes painful, and this was the case for Greece, such as labor market reform or privatizations. But in the current context, it would make no sense. We must avoid any stigmatization of countries, specifies the president of the Eurogroup.

This new loan package, in addition to the previous aid plans, should be presented during the Eurogroup videoconference next Tuesday.

► To listen and also read: Bruno Le Maire on RFI: "The recovery will be long, difficult and costly"

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