- Split Europe seeks compromises
- Coronavirus, the timing of the Eurogroup meeting on measures against the crisis is getting longer
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08 April 2020 "After 16 hours of discussion - Centeno writes on twitter - we approached an agreement but we have not yet arrived. I suspended the Eurogroup, it will continue tomorrow. My goal remains: a strong EU safety net against the fallout from Covid-19 (to protect workers, businesses and countries) and commit to a substantial recovery plan. "The Eurogroup press conference scheduled for this morning at 10 am therefore also canceled. The timing of the Eurogroup meeting is lengthening: the pause continues and the resumption of work has already been postponed three times. The spokesman for President Mario Centeno announced this, explaining that more time is needed. Ministers are rewriting the text of conclusions. But the agreement still seems far away, to the point that it is assumed that the videoconference meeting will last all night.
After 16h of discussions we came close to a deal but we are not there yet.
I suspended the #Eurogroup & continue tomorrow, thu.
My goal remains: A strong EU safety net against fallout of # covid19 (to shield workers, firms & countries) & commit / to a sizeable recovery plan pic.twitter.com/wLRhcbR9O1
The ministers of the economy face a negotiating marathon in the most difficult Eurogroup since the time of the euro crisis. Divided on how to give a common and adequate response to the pandemic economic shock, they try to approve "the most ambitious economic package ever", as President Mario Centeno has defined it. But for the package to pass, there must be everything: from the MES wanted by the Northern countries to the Eurobonds proposed by the South. Otherwise the table will jump. The start of the Eurogroup meeting had already been delayed by over an hour yesterday for the latest negotiations to prepare for the discussion between ministers. The Member States are divided on two points: the use of MES credit lines, albeit with "light" conditionalities and a fund to issue "bonds" which should finance the recovery through debt mutualisation. On the Eurogroup table there are also a series of proposals on which there is a consensus, such as the 200 billion plan of the EIB to guarantee liquidity for businesses and the 100 billion SURE instrument to help Member States to finance mechanisms such as cash integration.
Conte hears von der Leyen: no compromises on the downside
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte heard the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen yesterday afternoon. During the conversation, as far as we learn, he reiterated the need for a "courageous" European response, starting from Eurobonds. "Italy will not accept downward compromises," the premier said.
"In the face of the most serious crisis after the war, it is time for European countries to take another step forward in their common response. Responsibility and ambition". So on Twitter the EU Commissioner for Economics Paolo Gentiloni before the start of the Eurogroup videoconference meeting.
Economic ministers will discuss "the largest and most ambitious package the Eurogroup has ever prepared", which includes "a safety net for workers, businesses and countries". But this plan "which will shield the European economy cannot be separated from that for recovery", for this reason "I will ask ministers to work on a broad and coordinated recovery plan": Eurogroup President Mario said so Centeno in a video before the start of the Eurogroup.
"We need to make large sums available and show European solidarity", says the president of the European commission Ursula von der Leyen , in an interview with Die Zeit, according to an anticipation, answering a question about aid for Italy and for the other countries affected by the crisis.
The answer to the coronavirus is to provide large sums of money, "and this works best through the full use of the tool we have: a strong new European budget," says the president, answering a question about what you are playing against coronabond to Die Zeit. "It is supported by everyone, it is transparent, the rules are clear. And its mandate is to grow all EU countries together. Through the 7-year budget we can leverage the amount we need to react to the crown" .