IAN Week in Review: Eurogroup fails to agree on corona bonds
On the economic front, the Eurogroup announced three common European instruments to deal with the crisis: EU Commission’s plan for employment polices worth EUR100bn, a reinforcement of EIB funding to SMEs worth EUR200bn and the activation of the ESM precuatiorany credit line worth EUR260bn, for coronovirus health related spending. This is a first step towards a common response but remains well below the ECB’s support which will add up by the end of the year to EUR 1 trillion. The Eurogroup also announced they will start discussions about a new intruments to support the economic recovery in the future, but there is no calendar or details yet as to how these talks will proceed.
In the US, the Fedreal Reserve added to its instruments the purchase of junk bonds, antcipating a wave of downgrades in corporations. Fed’s financial support currently adds to 2.3 trillion but it is bound to rise in the coming months as unemployment soars.
On the political front, the US is at the forefront on na attack of WHO’s response to the coronavírus, claiming that it worked far too close with chinese authorities. In Europe, Italy’s PM Conte threatens to derail the EU summit of 23 April if EU leaders fail to agree on a common instrument to support the economic recovery, a so-called corona-bond.
International Press Review:
The burden of the coronavirus pandemic must be shared fairly Editorial FT: How we act now will shape humanity’s future. Death is all around us. Let us seek a resurrection into better lives for all.
Plague time: Simon Schama on what history tells us Samuel Pepys was always better at social than distancing. At the end of 1665, after bubonic plague had taken off a quarter of London’s population, he wrote in his diary: “I have never lived so merrily . . . as I have done this plague time.”
G20 backs largest oil supply agreement in history, by David Sheppard, Anjli Raval, Derek Brower and Henry Foy: “The US and the G20 on Friday called on the world’s leading countries to take “all the necessary measures” to stabilise an energy industry devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, giving international backing to deep oil production cuts pledged by Opec and Russia.”
Coronavirus and the Future of Surveillance, by Nicholas Wright: The novel coronavirus pandemic is causing tens of thousands of deaths, wreaking economic devastation, leading to lockdowns across much of the world, and upending societies and their assumptions. But going forward, one of its most significant legacies will be the way that the pandemic dovetails with another major global disruption of the last few years—the rise and spread of digital surveillance enabled by artificial intelligence (AI).
“I Find It Appropriate that Every Member State First Acted Nationally”, by Christiane Hoffmann und Christoph Schult: In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, 53, criticizes the U.S., China and Hungary for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He also promises not to abandon Italy and explains why he doesn’t want to say that he’s actually in favor of corona bonds.
Italy’s Conte threatens to derail EU summit over corona bonds, by Hans von der Burchard and Paola Tamma: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte threatened to block a planned statement from EU leaders on their response to the coronavirus crisis unless they agree to use so-called corona bonds to help with economic recovery.
Jair Bolsonaro isolates himself, in the wrong way, by The Economist: The Brazilian president’s reckless handling of covid-19 will come back to haunt him
As covid-19 spreads, Vladimir Putin is invisible, by The Economist: Russia’s indispensable leader is strangely absent from the fight against the pandemic
La insolvencia de un Gobierno dividido Editorial El Mundo: Pablo Iglesias ataca a la iniciativa privada para imponer su ideología aprovechando la pandemia
L’abandon de nos anciens révèle la négligence dont ils font l’objet depuis trop longtemps, by Paul Melun: Le jeunisme et le modernisme en vogue dans notre société altèrent parfois, selon Paul Melun, l’attention due aux personnes âgées, dont la réclusion en Ehpad prend un tour dramatique en période d’épidémie.
