MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2020) EU ministers have agreed a 500 billion euro ($546.6 billion) aid package to address economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, the French economy minister has said.
"An excellent agreement of European finance ministers on the economic response to coronavirus: 500 billion Euros will be made available immediately. A recovery fund to come," Bruno Le Maire tweeted on Thursday.
EU nations had been at loggerheads over whether bailout funding should come with strings attached. Italy and Spain, the countries affected the most by the health crisis, argued they should not be made responsible for the pandemic.
Eurogroup President Mario Centeno said during a press conference that the minsters had agreed "bold and ambitious proposals" that were unthinkable a few weeks ago.
He said they would create three safety nets for businesses, workers and countries. A temporary financial institute will be created to channel up to 100 billion euros to countries struggling to protect jobs. A 200 billion scheme will lend money to small- and medium-sized businesses. A mechanism worth 240 billion will be launched within two weeks to support eurogroup ESM members.
A targeted recovery fund is also being discussed to "turbocharge" European investments to create a more resilient EU economy, Centeno added. Some member states have proposed common debt issuance to achieve this. He said the next EU budget would play a key role in funding the coronavirus response.
