While in Italy we are starting to think about measures for a probable easing of movement restrictions, the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen yesterday he wanted to approve "guidelines”For the exit of the various countries from the lockdown. Guidelines not shared with other countries, especially with Italy, where the virus has claimed more victims.
An announcement, that of von der Leyen that forced the premier Giuseppe Conte to call her to postpone: “this is not the time”. Following that, Paris and Madrid also confirmed the Italian line. Beyond the small incident, what keeps governments in fibrillation are the decisions that the Eurogroup must take on the financial measures to be applied to help the EU economy after the Covid-19 emergency. The meeting began late last night due to confidential meetings between the various representatives of EU countries.
The first tensions were registered, in the morning, already among the finance ministers of the various EU countries. The commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, during the day, expressed his opinion conducive to a "Recovery Plan" funded by common resources. The two fronts, countries of the North (Germany, Austria, Holland and Finland) and the South (Italy, France, Spain and Portugal) have shown that they are still in strong opposition, in the light of the proposals, considered inadmissible on the one hand and by the other.
Late in the evening, the Eurogroup released a first draft document with the option preferred by the German president of the Commission: a "Recovery Plan "linked to the EU budget, ie the existing European funds, in the hope that they will increase in the next seven years.
With this solution, however, very few resources are foreseen to counter the economic emergency from Covid-19, because a strong contraction of European GDP is expected.
Doubts are also on the plan "Sure”, The job support plan which for Italy is equivalent to a loan capable of covering just over four weeks of layoffs. (Each government can draw only twenty of the hundred billion from the fund, but must offer guarantees for five billion).
As regards the guarantees of 200 billion from the EIB (European Investment Bank), they barely and partially cover the credit of all European companies.
Germany and Holland focus heavily on loans from the States save fund (Mes) for a fixed amount of 2 per cent of GDP, with low conditionality for repayment and control. (Italy could benefit from about 36 billion euros, far from the real national needs).
A clear "no" to the Recovery Plan with mutual funds came from Wopke Hoekstra, the prime minister of The Hague.
The Netherlands together with Germany and Austria confirm the use of Mes light, with guarantees from the ECB and the EIB.
Given the positions, the Eurogroup meeting was postponed until tomorrow.