On France Info : the European economic responses to the coronavirus crisis

Guest of France Info’s Midday News on Thursday 26 March to analyse European economic responses to the coronavirus crisis on the occasion of the Spring European Council.

An opportunity to recall that, as in the face of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the European Union knows how to be very flexible (notably the European Central Bank) and that it allows its Member states to spend massively, including to help their hospitals and businesses (relaxation of state aid control, suspension of the stability pact, etc.).

Also an opportunity to stress that this flexibility is necessary but not sufficient, since not all EU states have the same needs and the same financial room for manoeuvre. And therefore to support the proposals in favor of more national debt buybacks by the ECB, more loans to SME’s from the European Investment Bank and the targeted activation of the EIB or the European Stability Mechanism to allow the issue of European treasury bonds (or “eurobonds”).