German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed hope that the Europgroup, an informal group of eurozone finance ministers, will be able to agree on a package of measures to combat the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic during its meeting on Thursday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2020) German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed hope that the Europgroup, an informal group of eurozone finance ministers, will be able to agree on a package of measures to combat the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic during its meeting on Thursday.
"We must give a unified answer. The instruments that are being discussed today and which I hope will be agreed, including the program under the European stabilization mechanism, the expansion of the European Investment Bank's activity and the possibility of using the part-time subsidy mechanism, are three very important multibillion [euro] mechanisms," Merkel said on Thursday during an online news conference.
The chancellor also commented on Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's statement that without common Eurobonds, the idea of a united Europe can be forgotten. These so-called coronabonds have become the subject of disagreement between the countries of southern and northern Europe, and Germany is considered the main opponent.
"I recently spoke with him [Conte] on the phone. We are united that in this difficult hour for Europe, solidarity is extremely needed. Germany is ready for this solidarity and is committed to it," Merkel said.
She noted at the same time that people can have different opinions on how best to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
After 16 hours of talks on Tuesday, the Eurogroup failed to agree on the economic response to the COVID-19 crisis.
