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Brussels: EU finance ministers agreed to help half a trillion euros in the crown crisis. The agreement was reached in a video conference, after the bilateral talks also won over the two countries in conflict, the Netherlands and Italy, for a compromise document. Consequently, funds should flow during the crisis without special conditions.
A spokesman for Eurogroup leader Mario Centeno wrote that a video conference of EU finance ministers ended “with applause.” “Today is a great day of European solidarity and strength,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in a video press conference from Berlin after the long negotiations. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire spoke on Thursday short message service Twitter of a “great deal” to deal with the immediate economic consequences of the pandemic.
Blümel: “Important step to combat the crisis”
Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) hailed the agreement as “an important step to combat the crisis and make a strong return for Europe.” “With the agreement in hand, the countries concerned can receive specific aid without jeopardizing the stability of the euro area in the long term,” he told APA. He campaigned for Austria’s approval: “For our economy to function again, as an export-oriented country, it is also necessary for the economies around us to recover. So, of course, we will participate in a recovery effort like solidarity partners “. “
Overall, the crisis package consists of three parts: in addition to ESM European Rescue Fund loan commitments of up to € 240 billion, this includes European Investment Bank loans for companies of up to € 200 billion and Another 100 billion euros to promote short-term work to help layoffs during the crisis prevent French Finance Minister Le Maire said the total amount of aid from the crown would be up to one trillion euros. The second half is supposed to flow through a reconstruction fund.
📽 video | Schaidreiter (ORF) on the EU aid dispute
Italy and Spain in particular should benefit from the aid. The credit lines of the European rescue fund ESM would only be subject to lesser conditions, according to diplomatic circles. The funds will be limited to expenses in the health system. This means that the conditions for the economic policy reforms demanded by the Netherlands are off the table.
In the planned post-crisis reconstruction fund, finance ministers must examine “innovative” forms of financing. However, there is no precise reference to common bonds, the so-called Eurobonds. These strictly reject Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, among others.
Crisis without a back door for the communitization of debt
“It was and is important for us that the current crisis does not serve as a back door for the communitization of the debt through the eurobonds,” said Finance Minister Blümel in his statement after the breakthrough. However, Italian economy and finance minister Roberto Gualtieri reiterated Rome’s call for crown bonds. These remained “on the table,” said Gualtieri.
Italy has been vehemently pushing for community ties for weeks and combines corresponding demands with bleak scenarios for Europe. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the BBC on Thursday that the existence of Europe was at stake.
However, support for corona bonds has declined significantly recently. Supporters of common European bonds, such as former EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who had put Eurobonds on the line as head of the Eurogroup, also left. In other words, “it is not possible to put crown links in the world overnight,” Juncker told the newspaper. The standard (Thursday edition). “It takes too long. But there is an urgency,” Juncker said. ECB Director Christine Lagarde also discussed the alternatives. “I don’t think we should focus on corona bonds,” he told the French newspaper. Le Parisien.
Monika Vana, head of the green delegation to the European Parliament, was disappointed with the result. “In view of the permanent blockade in the Council,” the compromise was a success, but the finance ministers had also “missed the necessary big step” because they could not jump back into their national shadows and find appropriate help to achieve this. crisis. “Vana wrote in a broadcast.
The SPÖ MEP Evelyn Regner’s verdict was kinder. “It is good that the finance ministers have put aside their differences and cleared the way for rapid and non-bureaucratic economic aid. Only with solidarity can we all come out of the Corona crisis together,” he wrote in a press release. The rescue package worth half a trillion euros was an “important step”, but “the next step” would have to be united crown unions.(APA / dpa / Reuters / AFP)
