Sixteen hours of discussions without consensus. "We are close to an agreement, but we are not there yet. I suspended the Eurogroup", which will continue "tomorrow, Thursday", announced on Wednesday April 8 on Mario Centeno, the president of l 'Eurogroup and Portuguese Minister of Finance, after a long meeting of European finance ministers.
After a whole night of discussions on a common economic response to the coronavirus, the countries of the North remain opposed to those of the South, which are demanding an unprecedented financial effort.
"My objective remains the same: a solid European safety net against the fallout from Covid-19 [to protect workers, businesses and countries] and embark on an important recovery plan," added the president. 'Eurogroup.
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/kGHoURgdrv
"With [the German Minister of Finance] Olaf Scholz, we call on all European states to rise to the exceptional challenges to reach an ambitious agreement", for his part wrote the French Bruno Le Maire on Twitter.
"Corona bonds"
Faced with the pandemic, the European response in the short and medium term must focus on three main axes, which initially seemed to win the support of ministers: up to 240 billion euros in loans from the euro zone relief fund , a guarantee fund for businesses and support for partial unemployment.
But the countries most affected by the virus, in particular Italy, continue to demand, in addition, the creation of a common debt instrument intended to revive the economy in the long term once the crisis is over. This instrument would take the form of eurobonds, sometimes called "corona bonds" or "eurobonds".
Among these countries are also Spain and France, as well as Greece, Malta, Luxembourg or Ireland, according to concordant sources.
"Eurobonds represent a serious and appropriate response," insisted Monday evening the head of the Italian government Giuseppe Conte, whose country is the most affected in Europe by the health crisis (more than 17,127 dead).
Italy, faced with the opposition of the countries of Northern Europe, Germany and the Netherlands in the lead, had already, with Madrid, led to the failure of the summit devoted to the Union's response in late March.
Debt pooling is a red line for Berlin and The Hague, which refuse to engage in a joint loan with highly indebted states in the South, which they deem lax in their management. Denmark, Austria, Sweden and the Baltic countries are on their side, said a European source.
France offers a "stimulus fund"
France hoped to offer a compromise, by proposing a "stimulus fund" capable of issuing common debt to the member states, but limited to essential public services, such as health, or endangered industries.
Rather than debate on a hypothetical common financing, the countries of the North prefer for the moment to concentrate on the already existing instruments to counter the economic shock, in particular the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), created in 2012 during the crisis of eurozone debt.
The ESM could grant loans to a State in difficulty of up to 2% of its GDP - or up to 240 billion euros for the whole of the euro zone -, with more limited counterparts than those required until now. the.
Finally, the ministers must also validate the project of the European Commission aiming to create an instrument to guarantee up to 100 billion euros at most national short-time working plans, reinforced or created due to the epidemic.
With AFP
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