The European Commission's Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis has expressed hope that the Eurogroup ministers will reach a consensus on measures to weather the COVID-19 economic crisis later on Thursday
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2020) The European Commission's Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis has expressed hope that the Eurogroup ministers will reach a consensus on measures to weather the COVID-19 economic crisis later on Thursday.
After 16 hours of talks on Tuesday, the Eurogroup, an informal body for discussion of shared responsibilities by euro area ministers, failed to agree on the economic response to the COVID-19 crisis. The ministers are set to meet again later on Thursday.
"I hope EU finance ministers will be able to agree today on a set of ambitious measures to support the economy. We need to see progress and overcome differences of approach. Solidarity has to be the driving principle. We are stronger if we face this crisis together," Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted.
EU member states have been divided on ways to bring their economies out of the crisis. Spain, Italy and Greece have called for jointly issued "coronabonds" eurobonds that would help their economies recover from the epidemic. But Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands are strongly opposed to the idea, saying it would only deepen the crisis.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in turn, proposed another mechanism SURE (Short Time Employment Scheme) financial assistance of up to 100 billion Euros ($108 billion) to EU member states from the bloc, among other things.
