EU medicine

12 March 2020 By Lisa Jucca Follow @LJucca

The 27-nation bloc lacks central spending power to fight the economic shock caused by the health crisis. But it’s not powerless. Relaxing fiscal rules and restrictions on state aid would give states freedom for more emergency measures. Looser bank regulation is another quick win.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on March 11 the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact has enough flexibility to deal with a coronavirus crisis that she said could infect up to 70% of the population.

Italy, the European country which has been hardest hit by the outbreak, on March 11 tightened a country-wide quarantine and said it would set aside 25 billion euros to fight the emergency.

Countries including Spain, Denmark, Poland and Hungary are closing schools, banning large public gatherings and restricting travel to fight the health emergency.

The European Central Bank was expected to unveil new stimulus measures on March 12 to help the economy deal with the shock of the coronavirus.

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