The EU is experiencing a recession of historic magnitude. The words of the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, are straightforward “the European Union has entered the deepest recession in its history“. Greece and Italy will be the most severely affected with a fall of almost 10%. For others like Portugal or Germany the fall should be below 7%.
The speed at which member countries can rebound will depend on the evolution of the pandemic. Governments will walk on a thread between reviving economic activity and protecting public health.
An international race for donations
The European Commission has kicked off a global marathon of pledges to help raise the necessary resources to fight coronavirus. “Our first objective is to collect 7 and a half billion euros or 8 billion dollars. These are the funds we currently need to work on vaccines, diagnostic tools and treatments“says the president of the European Commission. But Ursula von der Leyen adds at the same time that he”will take more“thereafter.
The British Prime Minister, himself infected, appeals to the international community. “The race for a vaccine to fight this virus is not a competition between countries but the most urgent joint effort of our lives. It’s humanity against the virus“Boris Johnson insists. The United States and Russia were the big ones absent from this international videoconference.
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