EU Agrees to Massive Bailout for Member Countries Struggling With the Coronavirus Pandemic

The European Union reaches an agreement on a bailout plan for those countries in the union hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Eurogroup chairman Mario Centeno announced that the agreement was made after marathon discussions in Brussels.

€500 Billion Rescue Package 

So far, Spain and Italy are the hardest-hit countries in the continent, with Spain having the highest number of confirmed cases at more than 152,000, with more than 15,000 deaths to COVID-19. 

The International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva said that this is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, adding that economic growth will be “sharply negative” this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

EU ministers didn’t accept France and Italy’s demands to issue “coronabonds” to share out the cost of the crisis, and the size of the package is roughly three times smaller than what the European Central Bank requested. 

The plan features around €240 billion to guarantee spending by indebted countries under pressure and another €200 billion in guarantees from the European Investment Bank, as well as other short term initiatives by the European Commission. 

Despite the slowing of infections and deaths, the EU is still not completely relaxed over the matter, with some infighting between nations in the bloc is still present. Luckily, the virus is slowing its spread dramatically, making it possible for measures to become more relaxed by the end of April.