AFP, Brussels :
EU finance ministers pledged Monday to fight the coronavirus “war” that is destroying their economies, but held off from announcing a major plan to boost Europe.
One by one, EU nations are enforcing strict lockdowns as governments make the tough decision to sacrifice their economies in last-ditch hopes of slowing the spread of the disease. Eurogroup chairman Mario Centeno said the unfolding scenario was “war-like” and that EU ministers meeting by videoconference were duty-bound to do whatever it took to respond to the crisis.
However, the ministers declined to specifically call in the help of the European Stability Mechanism, the eurozone’s 410 billion euro war chest. “We will do whatever it takes and more to restore confidence and support a recovery,” said Centeno, who is also Portuguese finance minister.
However the ESM was built “in the midst of a very different crisis,” Centeno said in reference to the eurozone debt crisis. “But rest assured that we will defend the euro and our citizens with everything we’ve got,” he said. The ministers – exceptionally joined by colleagues from outside the single-currency euro bloc – signed off on a raft of less ambitious proposals by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, including waiving rules on public overspending.
