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EU Commission wants to cushion economic consequences with billion-dollar funds
The EU Commission is providing 25 billion euros in the fight against the corona virus. In addition to the healthcare system, the money is to flow to affected economic sectors.
The EU Commission wants to use a fund of 25 billion euros to dampen the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis . As Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) announced, the fund is intended to support, among other things, smaller companies, the labor market and health systems. Among other things, the money is intended to help economic sectors that are particularly hard hit by the effects of the health crisis. The fund is said to be financed from structural and regional aid not used by the Member States.
She wants to ask the governments to release these funds, which normally flow back into the EU budget, in the amount of EUR 7.5 billion for the fund, said the Commission President. The rest should be financed through co-contributions from the member states concerned. Von Leyen wants to make concrete proposals at a meeting of Euro finance ministers on Monday.
Her agency wants to use the flexibility in the Stability and Growth Pact to give governments financial leeway to take appropriate measures against the crisis. "We will use all the means available to us so that the European economy can withstand this storm," said von der Leyen.
In the fight against the coronavirus epidemic , EU leaders also agreed to work more closely together than before. Health and home affairs ministers should now coordinate daily, said EU Council President Charles Michel.
Chancellor Angela Merkel ( CDU ) meanwhile is apparently planning a crisis meeting with employers and unions on Friday on economic policy measures to combat the coronavirus crisis. According to the editorial network Germany, the meeting will provide advice on "the effects of the corona virus on the German economy and possible economic countermeasures". Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) and Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz (SPD) should also take part.
In order to curb the economic consequences of the Corona epidemic, the grand coalition had already decided to make short-time benefits easier at the beginning of the week . The project was launched quickly by the cabinet on Tuesday . Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) also announced that additional funds of up to one billion euros should be made available in the federal budget for the fight against the virus. Among other things, the money should flow into research.
The Federal Ministry of Labor also wants to relax the ban on Sunday work to avoid supply shortages. A corresponding ordinance is being prepared, the Corona crisis team informed the German government. In addition, the Federal Ministry of Transport asked the federal states to initially suspend control of the driving ban for trucks on Sundays and public holidays until April 5, 2020 in order to avoid delivery bottlenecks.
In the United States, too, the Corona crisis is to be responded to with an economic policy package. US President Donald Trump had announced the announcement of the first concrete steps for Tuesday, but this failed to materialize. After his major tax reform in 2017, the president would like to see further cuts in income tax. However, according to US media reports, he encountered skepticism when consulting with his republican allies in Congress and also with his own employees in the White House.
